


I thought you were a myth

by snipsnsnailsnwerewolftales



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Angst, Angst and Humor, Christmas Fluff, F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Fluff and Humor, Friendship, Friendship/Love, Humor, Light Angst, Pack, Pack Bonding, Pack Dynamics, Pack Family, Pack Feels, Romance, Wolf Pack
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-01-06
Updated: 2016-09-16
Packaged: 2018-05-12 07:21:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 27,984
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5657581
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/snipsnsnailsnwerewolftales/pseuds/snipsnsnailsnwerewolftales
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“You’re an alpha now?” He asked in what sounded like disbelief. “Congratulations. I didn’t know you had it in you. Who’d you kill?”<br/>“No one.”<br/>A moment of silence passed before Derek barked out a laugh. “You have got to be joking. There is no way you-”<br/>“This was a bad idea, I knew I shouldn’t have come. I’ll just go,” you said, turning toward the door, stopping at his voice at your back.<br/>“No! Wait!”</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Derek Hale x Reader (x ~~a little bit of~~ Pack)**

**So, this is something that popped into my head, and I couldn’t let the idea sit, so here it is. Is this something I should pursue further?**

**Words:** 1,230

 **Warnings:** Mention of family’s death? (Hale and other) But just briefly.

**I do not own Teen Wolf or it’s characters. Sadly.**

Xxx

You swung the doors of the loft open, letting it slide on it’s own the last few inches, slamming into the stop and bouncing back slightly. Derek stood in front of the desk, slowly turning to face you. His arms were crossed over his chest as per usual, his knit eyebrows of confusion rising high as a spark of recognition went off in his eyes. “Well if it isn’t Y/N,” he said coolly, as if he had been expecting you.

Venturing a few steps in, you shrugged, trying to appear nonchalant. “I was in town. Figured why not drop by and see an old friend.”

“The way I remember leaving it, we were a bit more than _friends_ ,” he looked down at the floor, tucking a grin into the fabric of his shirt before he schooled his features back to grumpy and looked back up at you.

“Derek, I need help.”

“Of course you do. Why else would any werewolf voluntarily be in Beacon Hills?”

You flashed your red eyes at him, not missing the way he staggered back slightly. Walking backwards toward the door, you slid it shut before venturing back into the loft, a little closer to Derek than before.

“You’re an alpha now?” He asked in what sounded like disbelief. “Congratulations. I didn’t know you had it in you. Who’d you kill?”

“No one.”

A moment of silence passed before Derek barked out a laugh. “You have got to be joking. There is no way you-”

“This was a bad idea, I knew I shouldn’t have come. I’ll just go,” you said, turning toward the door, stopping at his voice at your back.

“No! Wait!”

Turning back to face him, you watched as he regarded you carefully, his scrutiny making you look down and fiddle with your fingertips. After a moment he invited you to come sit on the couch while he made a phone call, muttering something about an emergency pack meeting.

As he stepped into one of the corners, keeping an eye on you, you approached the couch. You were too anxious, and began pacing, looking to your right as he walked back, regarding you carefully. The desk stood between the two of you. Along with a heavy silence.

“Care to explain?” He finally asked, his voice harsh.

“Derek, please don’t be angry. I don’t know what the hell happened. After a few hunters found my family, we were running, and I was just trying to help my little sister get away.” His features softened at the mention of your sibling. “She had gotten shot with an arrow. Silver. Right in the thigh, and was dragging herself along.”

You took a deep breath, feeling a rattling in your throat that often preceded tears. Clearing your throat as you studied the desk, you looked back up to him, willing the tears not to fall. “I jumped in front of her and pushed the guy back. He hit a tree, and I’m pretty sure it snapped his spine.”

Derek was making his way back to the front of the desk so you circled to be behind it, feeling the need of a barrier for some reason. “I- I don’t know when it happened, but suddenly my family was looking at me in awe, but that quickly turned to fear and they told me to run. I heard the hunters mumbling something about a ‘true alpha’ and they came after me.” You choked back a sob. “My family told me to run, and I did as I was told. I heard their cries of pain behind me before they abruptly stopped altogether.”

Derek stopped pacing in front of the desk and closed his eyes with a sigh. The tears streaming down your face were hot and salty and bitter. “I tried to stay and fight, Derek, I really did. If- if anyone knows what that’s like, what I went through, I knew it had to be you. So I ran. As fast and as far as I could. Then I heard about a true alpha here and I thought maybe it was you.”

Derek looked up, flashing his blue eyes. “No. But I know him.”

You sighed in relief, coming around the desk. “Derek, I’m so scared. I don’t know what to do. This whole thing- true alphas- I thought it was just a myth….. Something your parents tell you to behave.”

Despite the situation, Derek chuckled lightly, dropping his arms to his side. “Yeah, I did, too. Until I met Scott. I thought it was just a story to manage unruly betas.”

You swiped at your tears. “One more thing. I think some hunters followed me here.”

Grumpy faced Derek was back in a heartbeat, turning away from you. “Y/N! All the packs here are teenagers, and humans, and as much as I hate the annoying little pip squeaks, I- they’re my pack. I have to protect them. How can I do that when you come in here with a string of hunters in tow?”

“Derek, I know. I didn’t mean to. I just noticed it last night. Derek. I’m sorry.” You reached out and grabbed his arm gently, not even flinching when he quickly turned to face you, staring at your hand. Releasing his arm, you held his gaze. “Sorry,” you said softly.

“How can there even be two true alphas at one time? Much less one of them be a woman!”

You felt your eyes flare. “Hey, your mother was an amazing alpha. If it hadn’t been for that stupid pack rivalry, everything would have been fine, and I would have never left town.” You took a step closer to Derek, your voice lowering once again. “Never left you.” Reaching out you gently took hold of his arm once again, seeing the tears in his eyes. You reached up and cupped his cheek. “You know we were the reason, right? We weren’t supposed to fall in love.”

“It was like something out of a damn movie,” Derek muttered bitterly, smiling almost imperceptibly as you laughed softly. He looked down at your hand, flipping his arm in your grasp to look at the small tattoo on the inside of your right wrist. “My triskelion….” His voice was distant. “Why did you get this, much less in so prominent a place?”

“'Prominent’? You mean more prominent than on my back as big as day?” This earned you a scowl. Looking down at the three swirls, you smiled fondly. “I got the triskele on my wrist because I wanted to always remember, whatever I did, that two packs,” you pointed to two of the outer swirls, “can become one.” You pointed at the third. “That despite vendettas and hunters and things that go bump in the night, we all have a common cause.” You pointed at the middle where they all intersected. “We all have something worth fighting for.”

You looked up, meeting Derek’s gaze with a small grin. “Plus I thought it was pretty and it reminded me of you.”

Derek regarded you with awe filled eyes. “I missed you.”

“I missed you, too.”

“Scott is going to freak out when he finds out there is another true alpha.”

“He’s going to freak? I’m already freaking out!” You cried, finally earning a laugh from Derek.

“You’ll be okay. I swear. I’m not letting you go this time.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I feel it fair to warn you. 
> 
> This isn't going to be all fluffy and happy and love long lost coming home and everything is better. 
> 
> It's going to get angsty. 
> 
> It's a story about life. It's not a love story, per say. Or a story about finding your happy ending, necessarily. 
> 
> It's a story about life. And how when everything seems wrong, when everything is about to fall, take a step back and look where you are. Still on solid ground, despite your shaky footing. Surrounded by people, despite the chaos telling you you're alone. Loved, despite that nagging little monster in your head telling you otherwise. 
> 
> There is always someone there for you.
> 
> And sometimes you have to feel like you are alone in this world and have lost everything in order to find that person or persons, and realize you have everything.
> 
> Believe me.
> 
> I speak from experience. 
> 
> You are not alone. No matter how dark the night, you still can see the stars. They twinkle and shine with a light that is so old by the time it gets here, that star may already be gone. But it still offers it's light to guide your way. It still shines even after it's gone, because it's story is not done yet. And part of it's story is to shine for you. Whether to light your way, or to simply give light, a glimmer of hope, it's still there. 
> 
> Even the moon needs the sun in order to shine. And just like it goes through phases of light and darkness, so do we. It won't always be dark, I promise. Eventually you will find your sun, or even your moon, and together you will make something beautiful.


	2. Chapter 2

**Derek Hale x Reader (x ~~a little bit of~~ Pack)**

**A/N: So, after numerous requests for a continuation, I give you Part 2! Ta-Da! And yes, I know some characters might be a little OOC (and I literally mean little) but it will make sense in the next part. Sigh. Yes. I may write a Part 3 if people ask.**

**Words:** 3,845

 **Warnings:** Mention of family’s death? (Hale and other) But just briefly. Mention of dead characters, so, a feels warning. And some light swearing.

**I do not own Teen Wolf or it’s characters. Sadly.**

Xxx

Derek filled you in briefly on everyone’s backstory, explaining the makeup of the pack, and what had happened since you were away, including new creatures, deaths, and members of the pack leaving or dying. You were always good with names, and filed them all away, making it a point to not let the dead go by forgotten.

As if on cue from the fates, the two of you were interrupted by the loft door sliding open and a bunch of teenagers walking in. Their confidence was astounding. The way they all held their heads up high, as if ready to take on the world should the need arise made the alpha side of you proud. But the side of you that still felt like a beta, still unsure of herself and a lower member of the family pack felt the sudden urge to cry.

Here stood in front of you one of the most cohesive units you had ever seen, and they weren’t even all supernatural, and if they were, they weren’t all werewolves. You looked down at the triskele on your wrist, tracing it lightly as you blinked back the tears. Now was not the time. You had shed enough of them today for an army. Your family would understand, would want you to be strong. You stabbed the middle of the symbol, where all the points intersected, with your finger gently, more of a poke. They would want you to keep fighting no matter what.

You cleared your throat and looked up, meeting the eyes of Peter Hale instantly, his bright blue staring back at you. A chill ran down your spine. You never really liked him. He slid the door shut with a thud and you felt trapped. You could tell he knew, that you were the reason for this meeting, but he didn’t say anything. “Well, if it isn’t Y/N!” He cried, striding toward you with open arms, enveloping you in a large hug. You wrapped your arms around him hesitantly and loosely, feeling very awkward as the hug dragged on. A low growl from Derek finally made Peter sigh and release you, pulling back with a wink.

“Let me introduce you to the group,” Derek said softly, placing a hand gently on your lower back and ushering you toward the new guests hovering in the doorway. You could already tell who the alpha was, the way he stood protectively in front of the rest of the pack. His chest puffed out, shoulders squared as he narrowed his eyes at you so slightly you almost missed it. Aside from his obvious protective streak, he reminded you of an actual puppy, and you smiled a small smile at the thought.

Introducing you to a redhead, Derek began, “This is Lydia. She is a-”

“Banshee,” you finished. You smelled her from the moment she walked in. You had only met one other banshee in your life, but the smell was so distinct, you’d remember it anywhere.

Plus, Derek had already filled you in on the group, but, no one had to know that. You could tell even without having it explained.

“Ooo! This sounds like a fun game!” Peter said from somewhere behind you, clapping his hands together once in excitement. “Tell us what everyone is!”

You could feel Derek glaring at his uncle, a low growl rumbling in his chest, stopping as you touched his arm gently. “Sounds like fun,” you nodded, simply wanting to appease Peter….. And remove his snarky sarcastic tone with your teeth.

Nodding, Derek gestured to a girl with short blonde hair. “This is Malia.”

“Oooo. This is new. I’ve never smelled anything like you before, but something makes me want to say…. Werecoyote?”

You heard Peter mutter a “Damn” under his breath in disappointment, making you smile.

“This is Stiles,” Derek moved on, a smile on his face as well, enjoying Peter’s disappointment.

“Human,” you said simply, taking one more whiff and wrinkling your nose. “But you weren’t always. I smell a little bit of fox in you. That’s a story I want to hear.” You winked at him and chuckled when he smiled and pointed at you, looking at Scott, saying a quiet, “She’s good.”

Continuing down the line you met Kira, a kitsune, Isaac, a werewolf, Liam, another werewolf, and finally ended with Scott, the true alpha werewolf.

“Well, I already know what you are,” Scott said, his voice calculated.

“And that would be…..” You wanted to run.

“A werewolf…..” He said hesitantly.

“Oh. Yes. Well. That’s true,” you rambled, suddenly nervous about your big reveal.

Moving into the loft, Stiles had already moved on to the task at hand. “So, where is this new ‘true alpha’?” He spoke sarcastically, putting air quotes around your title, as if he didn’t really believe it were true, and to be honest you were finding it hard to believe it yourself.

Clearing your throat, you raised your hand tentatively. “I am.”

Stiles stared at you for a moment before he laughed. “Ha-ha, very funny.” When he looked to Derek, then to Peter, his smile fading, he looked back to you, his voice starting to get slightly nervous, and somewhat cocky. “Okay.” He motioned to you with a jut of his chin, practically vibrating on his toes with nerves. “Prove it.”

Looking down, you closed your eyes and took a deep breath, letting your eyes glow red and feeling a confidence wash over you along with the change. Raising your head, you leveled your gaze on Stiles, letting it flit to Peter who cowered slightly, making you smirk, to Scott, who flashed his own back at you, before looking back to Stiles.

He was silent for a long moment, standing perfectly still, finally scoffing and using large gestures as he spoke. “Well that could be anything…. Lighting….” He trailed off, looking to Scott who looked up at the ceiling and shook his head at his friend. Looking back to you, Stiles’ face drew into a determined line and he approached you. “Here. Punch my hand.” He held it up in front of him, looking at it for a moment before moving it to the side and looking back to you expectantly.

Glancing quickly to Scott, you saw his head now hung low, facing the floor as he shook it, making you smile. These two were obviously old friends, and Scott knew better than to try and change his mind.

You looked at Derek with a raised eyebrow, and he sighed. “Stiles, don’t you remember how this went when I told you I would punch through a wall?”

“Yes. But surely she doesn’t have that kind of power. I mean look at her, she’s like the poster child for a makeup company or some model. You are big and scary and believable.”

“You didn’t believe me then,” Derek argued, and you glanced back over to Scott who wore an apologetic look. Apparently this was normal for these two. You looked back to Stiles, admiring his protectiveness over his friends. He only meant well. You looked back to Derek who was pinching the bridge of his nose, eyes screwed shut in exasperation.

“Well I believe you now,” Stiles said as if it were obvious, shaking his head for emphasis. “But I don’t think she-”

The smallest, almost imperceptible nod from Derek telling you it was okay, and you reached out, punching Stiles’ hand without even looking, hearing his sounds of pain that resembled nothing you had ever heard before as he groaned out, “Yup. She’s the real deal.”

“Uh-huh,” Derek nodded, rolling his eyes.

Reaching out for Stiles, he recoiled away from you with a little yelp, making you laugh. He narrowed his eyebrows at you. “You’re laughing? You’re sadistic! I’m in pain and you’re-” stuttering the end of the word in agony, he looked down to where you grasped his hand in your own, the veins around your wrist growing black as you clenched tighter. “Taking away my pain,” he finished in a normal voice, and you nodded once, humming your acknowledgement, your face drawn tight from the sensation, your throat feeling hoarse.

Releasing his hand when the pain stopped, you opened your eyes, letting them fade as you smiled at him. “Damn, I punch hard. Sorry.” He shrugged it off, face blushing slightly.

Peter scoffed. “Go a few rounds with one of the wolves. Let’s see if you really are all that strong. Stiles could be knocked over by a gust of wind strong enough.”

“Hey!” Everyone laughed as Stiles nodded in concession. “What do we do now that we have two? And why do I sound like Dr. Seuss?”

Isaac slapped Stiles on the back of the head.

The rest of the group was quiet, seemingly just to let it all sink in. You were only slightly younger than Derek, and these kids were a year or so younger than you. This was a lot for them to take in, you didn’t blame them. It was a lot for you, and you were born into it.

“Well, we could kill her,” Peter said suddenly, breaking the silence.

“I’m literally right here, Peter,” you said, overlapping Stiles’, “Where’s my bat?”, Liam, Isaac, and Malia’s growls, and Kira and Lydia’s annoyed huffs.

“Over my dead body,” both Derek and Scott said at the same time, turning to the older Hale, eyes glowing protectively. You had missed this, missed having a pack, protection, people willing to help you. This was a dangerous trail of thought…. You tuned back into the conversation in front of you. Peter was smirking devilishly. “That can be arranged.”

“Why is he still here?” Isaac and Stiles said in unison, looking to one another annoyedly, while pointing to Peter and looking between all the members of the group.

“We’re not killing anyone,” Scott said pointedly to Peter, turning back to you as his eyes faded back to normal. “Sorry about that.”

“It’s okay,” you shrugged. “I grew up with creepy uncle Peter. I’m used to it. Besides, he knows I can kill him. In fact, it would be easy.”

“You could not,” Peter scoffed. “That was established during that whole pack dispute years ago. You put up quite a fight when they tore you and Derek apart - and I mean literally, folks.” He said the last part to the group with a wink, and you could hear Derek huffing in annoyance beside you. “Quite a fight, but you were no match for me. I believe I was the one to finally put you down long enough to stop the whole damn fight so we could all talk. We agreed, no bloodshed. Your pack was supposed to leave and there would be no more killings.”

“And how have you held up that end of the bargain, Peter?” You questioned, arms crossed across your chest.

He sneered at you.

The group was looking between the two of you, heads snapping back and forth at your banter like a tennis match.

“That’s not relevant,” he said through his teeth.

“Your blue eyes beg to differ.”

He growled at you in frustration. “I didn’t die just to come back and deal with crap like this!” His voice escalated, ending on a shout that rang through the loft, echoing off of every surface.

“So then why didn’t you just stay dead?” You asked calmly.

He slowly pointed to Lydia from his perch on the spiral stairwell, talking through his sneer, his voice low and venomous. “Why don’t you ask her?”

You started speaking as soon as he stopped, not looking away from him. “I will not ask a banshee why they did or didn’t do whatever with the dead. That’s not my place, nor was it yours to manipulate her beyond the grave.”

He rose quickly to his feet, growling out his next words. “What do you know about any of this? ‘Not my place’? You’re one to talk. You and my little lover boy of a nephew over there are the whole reason my family fell apart, so don’t you tell me what is and is not ‘my place’.” He hissed out the final words on a deadly whisper, his eyes flickering briefly at you as the silence settled, and he returned to a sitting position.

You kept your own eyes from flashing, speaking in a surprisingly calm voice. “Of all the people in this room, aside from Scott, I am most definitely one to talk about what is and is not my ‘place’. In fact, I think just about everyone could say a thing or two. Scott found his ‘place’ when something bit him in the middle of the night, then again when he was saving someone’s life.”

The silence in the room spurred you on. “Stiles found his ‘place’ when he helped Scott come to terms with his, then again when the nogitsune came out to play, but here he is after defeating it and back in his rightful ‘place’.”

You swallowed heavily. “I was born into this just like you. I was a beta, and I knew, one day, I would inherit the position of Alpha when my father died. I knew my ‘place’. I didn’t steal my position from a family member because I simply couldn’t wait. But by sheer happenstance, I came into ‘my place’ moments before my father died and I would have received it anyway.”

Peter opened his mouth to speak but you continued before he could, taking a step toward him. “Lydia’s ‘place’ saved Jackson’s life. Now her new ‘place’ is finding dead people and predicting death, and while I would not wish that on my worst enemy, I look up to her, and commend her for performing her job dutifully and effectively.”

You pointed to each person as you addressed them, simply pointing to a new finger in reference to the dead, not looking away from Peter, staring him down where he sat, taking a step closer with each new name. Your voice began to rise, starting at a growl. “Kira and Malia are still finding their ‘place’, but they are welcome and helpful members of the pack as they figure it out.

“Isaac was given another chance when Derek gave him the bite, and now he has saved multiple lives.

“Derek has been through the ringer, becoming an alpha, becoming a freaking teenager beta, then being an adult beta, then getting his blue eyes back again. He gets to pick as far as I’m concerned.

“Liam was just the new kid, but now here he is, making his own path since his original plan to just survive high school was taken from him.

“Erica and Boyd found a new life, a better life, and it was taken from them way too soon.

“Allison.” You heard everyone’s already pounding hearts pick up even faster, Scott’s skipping a beat, and the already overwhelming smell of grief filling the room became even stronger at the mention of her name. “She died after just discovering how to defeat those things. She had literally just found her ‘place’. She redefined the code of hunters, the same kind of people that killed all of my family,” you saw Peter’s face fall slightly at the mention of your family’s death, “she convinced them of this.”

You held up your wrist, showing your tattoo. Pointing to the three points as you continued.

“We are all different. We are all just trying to make it in this big thing we call a world. And sometimes…. Sometimes shit happens and you are left out in the cold, defenseless and alone. But thanks to people like her,” you gestured widely with both your arms, palms facing up, “people like this, we all can have someone at our back. Someone to help us when we are down. Someone.”

You pointed to the middle of the tattoo. “We all have something we can agree upon, and that is the fact that life goes on. Are you going to live it, surrounded by friends and family, laughing and enjoying every day? Or are you going to spend your time wallowing, wishing for something you don’t have, miserable and alone?”

The room was silent, your eyes flaming bright red as you turned and took in the loft. Feeling the fade back to human, you spoke quietly, looking down at the floor before looking at each person in turn, ending with Scott.

“I’m not here to fight. I’m not here to cause trouble. I’m here because I’m alone. I’m alone, an alpha, and, I don’t really want to go into it just yet. I know you have questions, and I have answers, but….”

You chuckled darkly, looking at the floor again before returning your gaze to Scott, opening your mouth to speak, but he beat you to it.

“Like you said. ‘Sometimes shit happens and you are left out in the cold, defenseless and alone’.” The look of appreciation on his face said the rest.

You nodded. “I’m just trying to find where my new ‘place’,” you glanced at Peter over your shoulder who looked back at you, defeated, “fits. I was hoping it could be here, because I already have my someone who I know has my back.”

You looked over to Derek, who simply nodded gently. “You already know you can live here. That is, if you don’t mind Isaac sharing the same roof.”

You turned to the beta who looked at you somewhat sheepishly, making you smile. “I don’t mind. What about you?”

His grin was nothing short of radiant as he nodded in agreement, making your own smile grow at the sight. “It’ll be a nice break from sourpuss over here,” he tilted his head toward Derek playfully.

The former alpha scowled. “I made you. Watch it.”

You looked back to Isaac and winked. “We’ll work on it together with him. Two heads are better than one.”

“I already regret this,” Derek said, pulling a hand down his face roughly as his shoulders shook with a small laugh.

“Now all you need is a pack,” you heard Scott say behind you. You turned to him and nodded. “Well, I see no reason to draw lines in the sand and claim different parts of Beacon Hills. I also don’t want to become like the Alpha pack.”

Derek stepped forward. “I’m willing to vouch for Y/N, if her speech didn’t already convince you.”

“No, it did. I have no doubt that it won’t even be an issue,” Scott verified. “I just wanted to get that out there. We can work on logistics later, it’s been a long day, and this is all a lot to take in.”

You nodded yet again. “I understand.”

“So for now, you patrol with Derek and Isaac, and the rest of us will stay on our normal patrols. Until we work out the rest, I guess…. Welcome to the pack!”

You smiled, unable to contain your relief and shed a few tears as you engulfed him in a hug, whispering thank yous.

“Can I get in on this action?” Stiles asked, his arms already open for a hug, making you laugh. You weren’t really the huggy type, but the group seemed to deem it a rite of passage, so every person got a hug. After giving Derek a long, tight hug, you felt the need for clarification.

“And Peter?” You said, turning back around to him, enjoying how he once again cowered briefly. “Play nice. If you ever pick on any of these kids again.” You took a step closer. “If you ever try and break apart this - my - family.” You took a step closer. “If I ever hear you so much as thought a dastardly plan through more than just the initial idea stage,” you bent down, your noses almost touching and flashed your eyes at him, hearing him swallow in fear. “I’ll tear you apart.”

“I like her,” you heard Stiles say, followed by the sound of someone smacking him and a small cry of pain. “Malia, you know what I mean.”

“Oh. And Scott? Before you go….” You rose, turning to face the other true alpha, feeling Peter glowering at the back of your head. “Be careful. I think some hunters might have followed me into town.”

Scott’s eyes went wide.

Peter groaned and began laughing. “Nice job, sweetheart. Great timing on that little tidbit.”

“God, can someone please just kill him again?” Stiles huffed, throwing his hands up in the air.

Scott had his phone out. “I’m calling Deaton. Maybe he has something we can use to…. I don’t know. But he at least needs to know about Y/N. Can we all stay here tonight, Derek?”

Derek nodded. “I think it might be best.”

Looking around, everyone had their phones out and were either explaining to their parents or other family members the situation, or making up excuses for why they weren’t going to be home tonight. Luckily it was a weekend, so it didn’t seem too abnormal.

“I’m calling my dad to see if he and Parrish can park outside. Derek, you still have the alarm hooked up, right?” Stiles looked up at Derek.

“Yup.” He placed an arm around you, holding you close, whispering in your ear. “I can smell your anxiety. Don’t worry. We know what we’re doing. Scott just likes ‘better safe than sorry’.”

“I can see that,” you said, looking around at the well oiled machine that was now your pack. “I just don’t have anyone to call, and, that makes me kinda sad.”

“I’ll call your mom, Scott,” Isaac said, holding the phone to his ear.

Derek looked up and nodded to him on behalf of Scott who was buried deep in a phone conversation with the vet, before returning his attention to you. “Don’t think about it that way. Everyone you would call is already being called, or is already here.”

You looked over at Peter. “And we have a plus one. Worse comes to worse, we can just toss him out as a peace offering.”

Derek glanced up at Peter and chuckled, burying his face into the space between your neck and shoulder to hide his laughter.

“I heard that,” Peter whispered just loud enough for you to hear, making you laugh as well.

Derek was still chuckling as he pulled you along into the kitchen.

Taking a much needed breath to clear your head, you let it out slowly, sighing at Derek’s warm breath on your skin as he began to nuzzle your neck, almost burrowing into your hair, taking a deep whiff. “I almost forgot that your hair always smelled like plum blossoms. I missed that smell. Now I know why I smile whenever I pass by one in the woods.”

“How dare you forget such an important fact.”

He chuckled. “I remember everything else.”

Wrapping your arms around his neck and pulling back just enough to see his face, you smiled up at him. “We’ll just have to see about that.”


	3. Chapter 3

**Derek Hale x Reader (x ~~a little bit of~~ Pack)**

**A/N: So, after numerous requests for a continuation, I give you Part 3! Ta-Da! And yes, I know some characters might be a little OOC (and I literally mean little) but it will make sense in the next part. Sigh. Yes. I will write more.**

**Words:** 1,716

 **Warnings:** None that I know of? (Actually, mention of dead characters, so, a feels warning. And some light swearing.)

**I do not own Teen Wolf or it’s characters. Sadly.**

Xxx

An awkward clearing of a throat caused the two of you to pull apart quickly, feeling like teenagers again. Turning towards the source with a silly grin on your face, it melted into a thin line at the sight of Peter, smirking his ass off at the two of you. 

“Can I help you?” You asked flatly. 

“Since we are all trapped here because of hunters running rampant around the city,” he looked at you pointedly, punching his words unnecessarily, just to make sure his point came across, “I would like to make a suggestion of something to do so we don’t go bored out of our minds.”

“And what would that be?” You asked, crossing your arms, your head held high. 

His grin was one you’d seen before, many times in fact, and it was the mischievousness behind it that worried you. “Why don’t you and Scott go a few rounds?”

“No,” Derek’s adamant reply was overlapped by your nod and “okay” in agreeance. Derek’s eyes leveled on you, but you didn’t look away from Peter. “Go ask Scott what he thinks.”

As Peter turned and walked leisurely back to the other room, hands behind his back like a young child, you turned to Derek, speaking just as his mouth opened, effectively cutting him off. “You are always trying to protect me. I can fight my own battles, Derek. Besides, what other way do you suggest I figure this whole True Alpha thing out that does not involve the risk of death?” His eyes were seething, his chest heaving as he huffed through his nose, unable to retort. “It’s just Scott. I got this.”

Turning toward the main room, feeling Derek follow after you, lagging a few steps, you remembered a similar situation from years ago, before you left Beacon Hills.

—

_The two of you weren’t supposed to talk. Pack rivalry and whatnot. Even though you went out of your way to appease both sets of packs and parent’s, you and Derek had been cast in the school play opposite each other._

_He had only auditioned because you asked him to. He looked very awkward, stiff, and out of place up on the stage, reading over the monologues you all had to read individually. But when it came to the partner scene, something changed._

_The words tumbled out of his mouth without stumbling or halting. He barely glanced down at the page, away from your eyes, and you wondered if that play he had been reading for English was really for a make-up paper, or if he had memorized the scene beforehand._

_Regardless, you both were cast across from each other, and would meet in the woods after school to run lines. …..Lines, and other things…._

_One day, out of nowhere, Peter came waltzing out of the treeline, his hands behind his back like a child with a secret, whistling a tune to nothing in particular. The smirk he sent the two of you was chilling, if you had to describe it. The two of you pulled apart quickly._

_“What’s this?” He said with mock dramatics. “Aren’t you two supposed to be, oh, I don’t know, anywhere but together?”_

_“We’re running lines,” Derek shot back, his voice full of venom, blue eyes flashing._

_Before Peter could say anything, you added, “We are in the play together, and I am having trouble, so he is helping me memorize my lines, now go away.” You flashed your yellow eyes for good measure._

_He tisked, shaking his head with a sardonic grin, walking between the two of you. “Derek, go home.”_

_Derek scoffed. “Yeah, right. I’m staying right here.”_

_“Go home, Derek,” this time he bit out the words maliciously._

_“No.”_

_“I said-”_

_“I heard what you said, and I’m choosing to ignore it.”_

_“Fine. Then you’ll just have to watch.”_

_“Watch what?” Derek’s voice was hesitant, and you felt like Peter was circling you, sizing you up._

_“Well, I’ve been given the task of making sure the two of you do as you’re told, sticking to the agreement, by any means necessary.” His voice had taken on a dark, almost terrifying tone._

_Suddenly, Derek was between you and Peter. “Don’t you dare touch her.”_

_Peter relaxed much too easily. “Fine, fine, I’ll give you one more chance, but after this, I’ll be forced to take more drastic measures.”_

—

A quick glance over your shoulder showed Derek was along the same thought trail as you. Shooting him a reassuring smile, he looked away, unable to return it, and you could see the worry in his eyes. 

Turning back to the group, you smiled. “So, Scott. Peter ask you yet?”

“Yeah. And I was going to say no until Stiles started whining about how bored he was.” He turned to look at his friend who sat beside him, arms crossed on the couch. 

“What?” Stiles said as if he had been accused of something. “Sue me. I’m stuck in an apartment with a psychotic werewolf mass murderer, and it’s just a bit unsettling. I need the distraction.”

“You’re human, Stiles. You could leave and be perfectly safe,” you said softly. 

He stared at you, jaw hanging limply before turning to his friends. “She really has a lot to learn about me, doesn’t she?”

“You were going to say no?” You turned back to Scott after a moment. 

“Yeah….”

“Why?”

“Well, for starters, if anything happens tonight, we both need to be at our best, and if we even nick the other, it will take longer to heal-”

“Okay, so no fangs or claws,” you shrugged. 

“And,” Scott said pointedly, looking over your shoulder, “The look on Derek’s face is really making me question whether I would walk out of the loft alive or not. Or at least limping.”

You slowly turned to look at Derek once again over your shoulder, glaring at him. 

After a moment he shrugged, his eyes wide. “What? I was not!”

“Ignore Derek. He just doesn’t like that this was Peter’s idea.” He began to protest. “And, he knows I can kick your ass, so he is probably just looking out for you.” You raised your eyebrows at Scott, seeing him relax a little at the sound of Derek snorting a laugh behind you. 

“Fine, fine,” he said, standing up and shrugging off his jacket, cheers going around the group as people scurried to set up the mats. 

“Nice tattoo,” you said, eyeing the two wide bands he sported proudly on his bicep. 

“Thanks,” he said softly, nodding once in recognition. “I’m going to go change into my workout gear.”

“That sounds like a good idea. Me, too. Derek? Where did you put my bag?” You had left it in the hall when you walked in originally, Derek getting it before the pack arrived. 

He nodded his head to the stairs. “Follow me.”

Once in the guest room, you thanked him and grabbed your bag, moving to the small bathroom attached to it, but Derek grabbed your arm, stopping you, making you turn to him. “He’s just doing it again. He’s just trying to cause trouble. You know he was the reason the whole rivalry started in the first place?”

You nodded softly. “I know. That’s why I’m doing this. He doesn’t scare me, Derek.”

You went into the bathroom, and closed the door all but a sliver, feeling Derek sitting on the bed just outside. 

“You know I can change clothes without protection.”

You heard him chuckle slightly. 

“I don’t know, you’re pretty clumsy.”

“One time, Derek. I tripped pulling my jeans on one time. You think that black eye was bad, you should have seen the night stand.”

Now he let out a real laugh, and you smiled, zipping up the bag. “There’s my Derek.” You opened the door to see his smiling face, his eyes bright and twinkling. 

After a few moments, it faded. “No. Go change. At least put on a hoodie.”

“Derek, it’s a sports bra and sweatpants.”

“Exactly. Don’t you have anything less revealing?”

You scoffed. “I forgot how jealous you get. Yes, I do have-”

“Go put it on.”

“Yoga pants,” you finished, putting a hand on your hip as you smirked down at him. 

“Don’t put them on,” he said after a beat. “You’ll need something to sleep in, right? Loungewear?”

You reached out and smacked his upper arm with a laugh. Setting down your bag beside him, you pulled out a zip up hoodie. “Fine. Happy?” You held the mass up to him, waving it in his face.

“Yes, yes,” he laughed. 

“Good,” you said quietly, pulling it on, and zipping it quickly, turning to walk out of the room. Stopping in the doorway, you smirked toward the hallway. “But I’m not wearing it to fight in.” You rushed down the stairs when you heard Derek’s footsteps approaching quickly as he muttered, “You little-”

You reached the edge of the mat, pulling your hair up into a ponytail. “Ready, Scott?”

“As I’ll ever be.”

“Good.” You unzipped your jacket, throwing it to the side, stopping when all eyes fell behind you. 

“When did you get that?” Derek’s voice was quiet and you turned to face him, hearing a small gasp from the group behind you. 

“Oh. I forgot about that. Um, right after my family-” you had to stop and swallow the lump in your throat. “Um, I stayed with some friends for about a week before I had to start running, and I got this.” You gestured to your back. 

“An arrow?” You heard Scott almost whisper, and you looked over your shoulder at him, then looked at the floor, your head still turned to the side. 

“Yeah. It, um, it reminds me to keep moving forward. They only fly in the direction that you point, so it reminds me to never aim my anger or past experiences at the future. Sure, they helped shape me, who I became, but,” you shrugged, “they don’t have to shape who I become.”

You glanced over at Derek who had the same look in his eyes that he had when he first met you. 

Looking back at Scott with a sad smile, he met your gaze with one of his own. “Allison would have liked you.”


	4. Chapter 4

**Derek Hale x Reader (x ~~a little bit of~~ Pack)**

**A/N: I wanted to get this done in time for our special guest star in tonight’s episode! Allison is back! Kinda. Haha! Anyway. So, after numerous requests for a continuation, I give you Part 4! Ta-Da! And yes, I know some characters might be a little OOC (and I literally mean little) but it will make sense in the next part. Sigh. Yes. I will write more.**

**Words:** 1,905

 **Warnings:** None that I know of? (Actually, mention of dead characters, so, a feels warning. And some light swearing.)

**I do not own Teen Wolf or it’s characters. Sadly.**

Xxx

Scott’s words weighed heavy on your heart, despite the small smile on your face. Looking around the room, you could see the impact Allison had had on each person there, whether they had known her or just heard about her. She left a mark. And you could only hope that someday, given the position you had been handed, that you could live up to even an ounce of what you felt in the room for the former packmate. 

Looking down to the floor and clearing your throat, giving your head a little shake with a rueful smile, you turned your back fully to Derek so you could face Scott, and you felt his eyes boring into the large tattoo down your spine. “So, Scott. You ready to have your ass kicked?”

His red eyes flickered, and a smirk crawled up his face. You were thankful for his quick shift in demeanor, for the pack as a whole, really. Moving on to the task at hand instead of dwelling in what had been. And Scott seemed thankful for it as well. “My ass kicked? I thought I was just fighting you?”

A round of ‘oh’s and snickers went around the group of teenagers, and you even heard Derek let out a chuckle, and it made you smile broadly. “Oh, tough guy, huh? I see. No wonder everyone I came across from Beacon Hills the last few years act like they are lucky to be alive.”

“Sounds like you don’t keep too savory of company, then,” Peter said in a seemingly innocent tone, but dripped with venom underneath. 

You glanced over your shoulder at him, a quick flash of your eyes before giving a shrug. “When you’re as rare as I am, honey, staying alive is a day to day thing. Some people owed me favors. And obviously most of them were liars, since I see Scott is not, infact, ten feet tall with claws to match, and eats a live deer like it’s a potato chip.” You looked back to Scott. “At least, I’m guessing you don’t do the deer thing, right?”

“That’s what people say about me?” Scott asked, almost laughing. 

“When the words ‘True Alpha’ come up, people don’t know what to think. Most have never seen one. They make us into camp fire stories to scare baby wolves.”

“It’s true,” Derek said. “I never would have believed it, had I not known you before. I thought it was a myth.”

“Come on! Less talking, more fighting!” Stiles cried suddenly, breaking the more serious turn the conversation had taken. 

“Right! I’m supposed to be kicking Scott’s ass….”

“Ha-ha,” Scott laughed almost sarcastically, “it’s the other way around, remember?”

This time you heard Derek snort. Whether it was for Scott or yourself, you weren’t sure. Both of you made your way to the mats, taking a stance across from one another. 

“No fangs, no claws, remember?”

“No fangs, no claws, got it.” Scott nodded once decisively. 

“Now remember,” the two of you began circling one another, walking casually. “I’m still new to this Alpha, much less True Alpha, thing, so I may be a lot stronger than I think I am. I mean, just ask Stiles. How’s that hand, buddy?” You smirked. 

“Yeah, she’s strong,” Stiles said quietly, haltingly, as he scratched the back of his head. 

“Ah, but you’ve been a wolf longer than I have, so you have an advantage there,” Scott countered calmly. 

You nodded with an approving smile. “Good observation, Scott. You may just stand a chance yet.”

Scott narrowed his eyes at you, their red color coming and staying as he stared you down, a lopsided grin turning up his face as he spoke. “Now, what’s that saying? What do they say…. ‘Pride comes before a fall’?” He charged you on the last word, and you felt your eyes flare and stay, a snarl leaving your chest as you side stepped him, holding out a single arm to your side, catching his chest, and causing him to slam down onto his back with a growl. 

You looked down at him smiling, eyes brilliant red. “Yes. Yes, they do.” You held out a hand to help him up, and he took it, rising to his feet quickly, tugging you harder than necessary, making you stumble forward. Using the pillar just beside the mats in the middle of the loft as a springboard, you practically walked up several strides before doing a backflip and landing behind Scott. He whipped around to face you, and you smirked. “Come on, Scotty. Think on your feet-”

Suddenly you were staring up at the ceiling of the loft, your back to the mat with the wind knocked out of you. Scott wore his own smirk as he looked down at you. “I will if you will stay on yours.”

Swinging your feet into the air and rocking yourself forward, you landed upright, feeling a low growl leave your chest. “Touché.”

Both of you were breathing hard, circling the mats seemingly endlessly, until Scott charged you again. Dodging, you quickly turned to face him, dodging a few more blows, rolling out of the way several times, until you heard Peter call, “Stand and fight, Goddammit! Stop rolling around like-”

Sweeping your leg, you downed Scott and stood with your foot firmly on his chest, both of you heaving for breaths. Looking down, you saw Scott’s hands laying palms up beside his face in surrender, both of you letting your eyes fade before you looked up to Peter. “Okay.”

He narrowed his eyebrows at you, and you couldn’t contain your smirk. 

“Is this good enough for you?”

Peter scoffed and shook his head as you helped Scott up, patting him on the back as you caught your breath, giving him a nod and a small, “Good fight” before turning back to Peter with your head held high. “Do you believe me now? Or would you like me to kick your ass, as well, all to prove how I got the color of my eyes? Is it just so hard to believe someone wouldn’t steal it? Or that there are two of us at the same time? Or do you just still have a problem with me?”

When Peter didn’t answer, you rolled your eyes before turning back to the pack. “The night is still young. Anyone know how to play poker?”

Xxx

The girls had all taken over the upper room to sleep in, and the guys shared the living room. 

Everyone else had fallen asleep, and you were nearly there yourself, when you heard the bedroom door squeak open softly. In your state of near sleep, you reverted to old habits, and simply waited for whoever or whatever it was to get close enough before you reached up and punched. 

A sickening crunch and a muffled but familiar “Ow!” through a pair of hands made your eyes shoot open, your own hands coming over your mouth in shock. 

“Oh my God! Derek, I am so sorry! I was half asleep and-” the crunch of resetting bone made you shudder. 

Glancing around the room, listening to all the heartbeats, all the girls were still fast asleep, so when Derek gestured you down the stairs, a low groan of pain finally passing his lips, you followed behind him, closing the door softly. 

“Balcony,” he said quietly, pointing outside, and you glanced into the living room on your way to the door leading outside, stifling a laugh at the limp, snoring bodies of your new pack. 

Once outside, you wrapped your arms around Derek’s chest, squeezing tightly, and turning your face so your cheek rested on his peck. “Oh my God! I am so sorry! It’s an old habit! I was half asleep! I- Oh my God. I broke your nose.” Your voice became quiet at the end, realization dawning on you, and you felt Derek’s rumbling laugh beneath your ear, the sound vibrating around inside him like a bird trying to break out of a cage. 

“It’s okay. I get it. You have had one hell of a day.” He spun you around so your back was against his chest, and the two of you did that silly, stilted walk that couples do in the movies to the edge of the balcony, almost like an awkward three legged race, stepping in tandem as he held you close to him. 

Looking up, you saw the sky was clear, giving you a magnificent view of the stars and the nearly full moon. It was nice to be able to look up and not worry about using the stars for directions, finding your way out of whatever forest your were running in. 

Sighing, you let your body relax into Derek’s, feeling his warm breath against that same spot on your neck, that pulse point he knew so well, nuzzling his nose into the spot. 

“Remember all those times as kids we would meet in the woods and just lay on the ground doing this?”

“We didn’t quite do this,” Derek mumbled against your skin, and you could feel the smile playing at his lips. “We actually looked up at the sky.”

You reached up and smacked the back of his head softly, chuckling, before carding your fingers through his hair. “That’s what I’m doing, dummy. I don’t know about you. What are you doing anyway?”

“Making up for lost time.”

His voice was wistful, full of nostalgia, and yet sad in a way. That shouldn’t make sense, and yet it did. You yourself longed for the days when things were easy, as simple as sneaking around, and thinking about them brought a smile to your face. But at the same time, a sinking feeling would settle in your gut, knowing those times were over and gone, and you may never see Derek Hale again.

Placing your arm over one of his around your waist, running down until you knit your fingers through his and squeezed, you swallowed, simply nodding gently, letting him know you understood. 

His chin rested on your shoulder now, his voice dangerously close to your ear, making you want to close your eyes, but you kept them open. You wanted to know that for the first time in years, this wasn’t a dream. 

“Do you know how many times I looked up at that moon, the only thing keeping me sane, helping me not shift was knowing you were under it?” You felt his head tilt up, and you followed suit, glancing over to his face briefly before looking at the moon yourself. “Funny. The one thing that was supposed to make me go out of my mind kept me sane.”

“Okay, now I’m confused. Are you talking about the moon or me?” You glanced at him again, a small smile playing at your lips at the incredulous look he gave you. 

Turning his face toward you, you matched his movements, smiling when he tucked his face into that spot on your neck, looking at you through his eyelashes. 

“What?” You laughed, fingers still absently in his hair. 

“I just really missed you is all. I miss who I was when you were around. I miss what we were, what we had.” He kissed that spot gently before resting his chin once again on your shoulder. 

You nodded gently in understanding, staring into his eyes 

“I missed us, too.”


	5. Chapter 5

**Derek Hale x Reader (x ~~a little bit of~~ Pack)**

**A/N: So, this happened. I had a whole angsty, bloody, flashback section, but decided I needed to cover some basics that would come back to haunt me later, like not explaining how the reader suddenly has extra clothes and stuff. And yes, I know some characters might be a little OOC (and I literally mean little) but it will make sense in the next part. Sigh. Yes. I will write more.**

**Words:** 4,707

 **Warnings:** None that I know of? Maybe mention of _suggestive_ activities, but all in good fun. Mostly it’s just fluff and humor. Oh! And, actually, mention of dead characters, so, a feels warning. And some light swearing.

**I do not own Teen Wolf or it’s characters. Sadly.**

Xxx

You sat on the balcony, taking in the sunrise. After that intimate moment with Derek talking about you keeping him sane, the two of you had stayed up all night, sitting on the ground, and leaning on the wall right under the windows as you looked up at the stars, talking about everything that had happened since the day you left.

Scott wandered out through the door, stretching and still a little bleary eyed.

You smiled, which felt odd at this hour. Smiling was reserved for hours not created by evil - Also known as anything before eight in the morning. “There’s our little warrior!” Your voice was chipper, too, and Derek laughed at the look on Scott’s face.

He narrowed his eyebrows at you, and you shrugged, still smiling. “Were you guys up all night?”

“I guess so,” Derek said, looking out at the skyline, which was even brighter than only a minute ago. “God, I didn’t even realize.” He looked at you, smiling.

“Oh my God,” you heard Stiles’ voice behind you, groggy and thick with sleep. You chanced a look over your shoulder and snorted at his hair which was going every which way. “Derek Hale, our resident Sourwolf, is smiling. I’m still asleep, aren’t I?”

You looked back to Derek, biting your lip to contain the laugh that wanted so badly to come out. The smile was still there as he looked at you, and pointed a finger in warning, his elbow braced on his knee as he sat cross legged. “Don’t you dare encourage him,” he warned, though with that smile, you knew he was anything but threatening.

“This is some weird dream,” Stiles continued, his voice almost far away, like some sort of denial, maybe even fear, and Scott pulled his hand down his face, shaking his head knowing any attempt to stop the train of thought his friend was on would fail. “Some weird dream. And that smile is meant to lull us into some false sense of security….”

Scott grabbed Stiles’ arm, smacking the back of his head gently, and ushered him back inside.

“Don’t let him have any coffee!” Derek called after Scott, who paused, and looked over his shoulder with a ‘duh’ look, and said, “Ya think?” before letting the door close behind him.

Derek chuckled and you looked at him, still biting your lip, eyebrows raised. He hung his head. “Fine. Come on. Let it out,” he mumbled into his chest.

You let a moment pass until he looked back up questioningly before you burst out laughing.

“Okay, okay, geeze,” he lightly shoved your shoulder, and you felt seventeen again. “It wasn’t that funny. What gives?”

You took a deep breath, swearing you wheezed slightly with the effort as another laugh just wanted to come out. “They call you ‘Sourwolf’! Why didn’t I think of that? It’s perfect!”

“You ever call me that, so help me-”

“Oh, right. Pookie Bear is so much better. I agree.” You nodded, smirking as you tried to pull a serious face.

“Okay, fine, but not in front of anyone-”

“Nope,” you held up both hands. “You already made the decision. Pookie Bear forever and always you shall be.”

He tried so hard to maintain the scowl he sent your way, but it faltered as his lips twitched upward further and further, and when he spoke it sounded strained, and came out on a chuckle. “I hate you.”

You shoved his shoulder. “Oh, don’t be such a Sourwolf.”

He looked straight up, his body sagging, his head thumping back against the wall with a groan. This was the Derek you remembered. Laughing, having fun, and joking around.

“Hey. That’s the exact opposite of what I said. Don’t be such a Sourwolf, Pookie Bear!”

You leaned your head back against the wall to match him, laughing so hard your stomach hurt.

Lydia walked out, a note in her hand and smirk on her face as she handed Derek a note before quickly retreating to the safety of the indoors, and the werewolves that surrounded the door looking out at the two of you, grinning madly.

You looked to the note as Derek began reading. “Pookie, we are out of coffee. Went to go get some, took your credit card, will be back soon.”

Derek crumpled the letter, and you took it away before he could chuck it off the edge of the balcony. “You didn’t finish it!”

You cleared your throat. “Don’t look at me like that, stop being such a Sourwolf. Signed, Stiles.”

You fell over from laughing so hard, Derek trying to take the letter from your hand, and you tucked it up underneath you, guarding it. “Can I frame this?”

“No, but you can use it in the obituary after I kill him.”

“Derek! That’s not nice! What a Sourwolf thing to say!”

“But-” he reached for the note, and you pulled it away.

“Don’t make me go True Alpha on you.”

“I was an Alpha first!” He said after a moment.

“Ah, but I am one now. And a True Alpha at that.”

He narrowed his eyebrows. “You just like the sound of your own voice, don’t you?”

You matched his face. “If your voice sounded as good as mine, you’d do the same thing. Not to mention, I’m a True Alpha, so you have to listen to me. It’s, like, myth law, or something.”

“Oh, God, get a room!” You heard Peter’s voice muffled through the glass door.

You flashed your eyes, a snarl turning into a low growl before you looked at him. “We do. You’re the one deciding to watch. Old habits die hard, I guess.”

Peter shot daggers at you, a brief flash of his eyes before he turned away toward the kitchen. “He is going to break every mug I own,” Derek sighed.

You chuckled. “Sorry. It’s true. He always was the one to crash our party.” A moment passed and you heard everyone trying to talk Peter away from the cabinet with the mugs. “Oh. You weren’t kidding about the….” You pointed inside, and Derek hung his head, shaking it slowly. “Nope.”

“Might wanna let Stiles know to buy you new mugs, too.”

“If I do that, he’s gonna buy weird colors or shapes or something,” Derek whined, pulling out his phone.

“Give it to me,” you reached for the phone.

“Nope, I got it, I got it,” Derek batted your hand away, and you huffed, his smug grin in satisfaction fading fast as Stiles answered.

“Mugs?” You heard his greeting and laughed.

Derek sighed. “Yes. Mugs.”

A moment. “Is fuschia okay with you?”

“Give me the phone,” you mumbled through a grin, taking the phone. “Stiles, get the right mugs, or I swear I will call you something far worse than Pookie Bear and Sourwolf combined.”

“Pookie wolf? Aw, that’s actually kinda cute….”

“You like to be called Stiles, right? That’s a nickname you like to be called in place of your real name, right?”

The line was silent for a minute. “What are you getting at?” His voice was serious.

“Well, you know, I could just call you by your real name- Scott?” You called out, as if he were right in front of you. “What was it again? It was long and weird and, I don’t think I can pronounce that correctly without help….” You paused, grinning madly as you said the next words. “But I’m a fast learner. Shouldn’t take long….” Silence, but you could hear his heart rate picking up over the phone. “Derek, do you know what that accent means over the-”

There was a clatter on the other end, and he must have grabbed every mug they had in one fell swoop, reaching for the few stragglers beyond his grip. “Okay. An entire shelf’s worth of plain, bland grey coffee mugs, coming right up.”

“Thank you, Stiles,” you said sweetly.

He grumbled on the other end, making you smile.

“Oh, and Stiles? Grab some dry erase markers. Since Sourwolf has such bland taste and a lack of diversity, we can at least write our names on them while we use them so we don’t end up spit swapping.”

A beat, and five distinct hits into the cart made you smile wider.

“Thank you, Stiles.”

“You’re welcome. I’m grabbing sugar and cream and some flavored creamers, too, just FYI, for those of us who don’t drink it black like it’s a cup of death. Aka, for everyone but Pookie.”

“Hey!” Derek objected.

“Oh, Bear,” you said in a calming voice, placing a hand on his knee, “I know you like it extra sweet with cream and a swirl of vanilla, don’t worry.”

“I hope you stick around for a long time,” Stiles said, the wild grin evident in his tone.

You looked at Derek, your hand still on his knee, smiling gently. “I plan on it.”

After you hung up and handed Derek back his phone, he smirked deviously. “You’re gonna spike his drink, aren’t you?”

“I can’t decide if some Irish Cream would do the trick, or something my dad once said he did to his brother…..”

“What?”

“Laxatives.”

Xxx

Stiles came back with more than just what you had asked, it looked like he had bought the entire store.

As he stuck the fifth thing of ice cream in the freezer, you heard him mumble, “Revenge is a dish best served cold, my friend.”

“How much did you spend?” Derek practically roared, Isaac and Scott holding him back, Peter just looking on amused, Liam just standing there awkwardly. The girls had all gone out shopping, and asked if you wanted to come, but you elected to stay behind and help wrangle the testosterone home, telling them just to surprise you, and giving them your sizes.

You went to hand them some cash you had in your bag that had hardly anything else in it, and Derek stepped between the two of you, handing them his credit card, and calling after them, “Only for her stuff!”

“Derek, I can pay,” you objected as he closed the loft door then turned to you.

“So can I. Please, let me treat you. I have years to make up for dinner dates and whatnot. And this is stuff you need. Text the girls whatever you need, toiletries, clothes, shoes, whatever.”

Slowly walking over to Derek’s phone, you started a text message, feeling his eyes on you. You looked up. “What?”

“You don’t have a phone, do you?” He said it simply, knowing you wouldn’t want to go into details.

“No,” you shook your head. Without another word, Derek grabbed Stiles by the ear, handed him another card, and mumbled something to him, before Stiles smiled, leaving the loft.

“How many credit cards do you have?” You asked, bewildered.

“When you get in a fight and forget to clean off your wallet, the clerks look at you funny when you hand them a card covered in blood or that has slash marks on it. Once it even had teeth, well fang, marks. I couldn’t explain even if I tried. So I just walked away.”

You shook your head, before returning to the text message. “You know what, I’m just gonna call her, in case you are being watched. A call won’t look suspicious. A text about female clothing might. Hunters can hack the phones, sometimes, but they can’t track credit card sales. And I take it you use a different name-”

“No. Just mine. So what? I’m buying clothes for a girl. If they find out you’re with me, maybe that’s good. We have a reputation in this town. We don’t usually get messed with. At least, not by hunters. And if anything, I think they are out looking for you, not sitting outside the apartment waiting. Parrish is escorting them today, and nobody messes with Stiles because he is the Sheriff’s kid.”

The room had gone silent between the eerily normal, and yet in some aspects, not, conversation. You nodded, looking around the room before gesturing the boys make their coffee and finish putting away Stiles’ food stocks that should last a month. They sprang into action as you pressed send, going back up to “your” room, turning the music on the clock radio beside the bed up loud, going into the bathroom and turning on the shower and sink, hoping you could make your order with Lydia in peace without much eavesdropping from the peanut gallery downstairs.

“Is something wrong?” She answered. Oh. Banshee. Derek’s phone. Whoops.

“No, it’s me, sorry. And by the way, so sorry that is your instinctual answer. I was born into this, and I still hate that aspect.”

She sounded relieved. “Sorry. Just when Derek calls, it’s only ever some new baddie, you know.”

“Well, when Stiles gets back with my phone, you can always just answer without worrying. I will only call you to vent about Sourwolf’s latest meltdowns and what not. You know. The good stuff.” You smiled.

Lydia laughed softly. “Okay. Deal. Now, why are you calling?”

“I just wanted to stay as above the radar as possible incase they are tracking texts and stuff. I just have learned to be extra careful, I guess.” You sighed. “Life without a pack for too long.”

You could hear the sadness in her smile, but she pushed through none the less. You liked her already. “Well, you’re with us now. So stop worrying so much. That a what family is for.”

Happy tears fell down your cheeks silently. For the first time in a long time, you had a home, a pack, a family, and a safe, warm roof over your head. “Thank you.” Your voice cracked a little.

“Well, think you can remember everything I tell you I need, or do you want a text?”

You could tell Lydia’s lips were pursed, and Malia, using her hearing obviously, mumbled about a text so we could “divide, conquer, and get out”. “I agree with you, Malia,” you said, and then you heard Kira say, “Oh! Busted!” softly, and you laughed. Today was just full of that. It felt good to laugh again. “But I think you all need to stay with Parrish nearby. Just in case.”

They all agreed, and you said you would text them, and Lydia promised not to go too overboard, Malia scoffing in the background, and Lydia asking what was the point of a big strong body guard if he didn’t help carry the bags before hanging up. You stared at the phone for a minute before laughing out loud.

Shaking your head, you sat on the closed toilet seat and began typing, jumping when there was a knock on the door. “Okay. Now that our ears are bleeding from the atrocious radio station you insisted on blasting to the world, and I know you aren’t showering and using the sink at the same time, and I can hear the keys clicking, can I please have my bathroom back?” Derek was whining like a child.

“After I type this up. No reading over my shoulder. Then your phone is hostage until I get my own or they come back.”

A moment. “Fine,” Derek grumbled, and the bedroom door closed, but you heard him leap onto the bed a few seconds later, waiting for you.

Finishing up the message, you stared before you hit send. You hated asking for so many things, but you remembered your duffle bag full of clothes from friends that were falling apart, or torn and bloody…. You had just asked for the basics - workout gear, like sweats, jackets, sports bras, some tennis shoes, shirts and jeans and shorts from particular stores, because you knew what sizes you wore without fail at those stores, and you already could tell Lydia would get everything right off the bat with one look at you. That was her superpower. Then the essentials, like underwear, socks, pajamas, toiletries, makeup on the off chance you needed to be presentable, and a few sunglasses and baseball caps along with other hats in case you wanted and/or needed to go out without being recognized.

After you sent it, you turned the shower and sink off, and right before you unlocked the door, the phone vibrated with a reply of a picture with Parrish already loaded with bags, and the caption, “Oh, good! Now we can actually start shopping!” You rolled your eyes and laughed, walking out and laying beside Derek, who laid on his back, staring at the ceiling.

“You have a million dollars?”

Derek turned his head toward you, his face screwed up questioningly, and you pulled up the most recent text with the picture and caption from Lydia, and he read it before rolling his eyes and chuckling, covering his face with his hands. “Oh my God.”

The phone buzzed. “What’s Derek’s favorite color?”

Derek sat up beside me, and we spoke in unison as I typed, “Why?”

About fifteen seconds later, “Because it comes in red, green, and blue.” Then another buzz. “Oh, and white and black, too.”

“What is ‘it’?” You typed, and the two of you stared at the phone when two pictures came in of very risqué lingerie.

“Obviously they started with underwear, even though that was way after actual clothing,” you muttered, and Derek chuckled before suddenly stealing the phone from you, running into the bathroom and locking it before you heard the keys clacking as he typed out a response. “Derek Hale, let me in and don’t send that, or I swear-” The little ‘woosh’ sound of a sent message stopped you.

Unlocking the door, tossing the phone on the bed, Derek grinned smugly and walked out of the room. Scooping up the phone, you read what he had sent, and your face turned bright red. “This is Derek. If you buy one of each, then you can get whatever you want for yourselves today, too. On me.”

Xxx

Stiles showed back up with a brand new, top of the line phone, and explained to Derek how the new billing worked.

“Why do you keep snickering?” Derek asked Stiles, but you started before he could answer.

“Who is ‘Miguel’, and why does my phone think I’m them?”

Derek turned his glare on Stiles.

“What?” He cried, grinning. “I can’t just broadcast her name, now, can I?”

You copied the contact info over from Derek’s phone, and Derek pointed at you. “Don’t you dare delete those messages.”

You rolled your eyes before locking his phone and tossing it to him, shooting Lydia a text, “Hey, it’s me. Save me in your phone as ‘Miguel’. I don’t get it, but it’s Stiles’ doing. Oh. And I forgot. I need a picture frame, too.”

Xxx

“Did you buy the entire town out of clothing?!” Derek hollered, opening the loft doors to what looked like four walking piles of shopping bags instead of people.

“Just about,” Malia mumbled.

“We stopped her before it got bad,” Kira added.

Parrish just set the bags down, gave everyone a nod, and left the loft, shutting the door, eager to return to his squad car outside and just sit.

“Lydia, are those shoe boxes? I asked for some sneakers. Since when does that designer make sneakers?”

Lydia shrugged innocently as you opened a box and held up a high black stiletto heel. “I don’t think they do. But I’ve heard rumors.”

“Heels? Really, Lydia?” She already felt like a sister. All three of them did. “Because running from hunters or evil is so much easier in five inch heels.”

“Five inches?” You heard Derek say from somewhere behind you, and you recognized that tone. Lydia knew just what she was doing. Oh she was good.

“Malia picked out the dress. Blame her.” Lydia was smiling.

Derek swallowed thickly. “Dress?”

You turned to him. “Why are you acting like you did when we went to prom? It’s like you expect me to always be covered in dirt and blood, running for my life.”

“Not in those heels, you’re not,” Stiles said from the sidelines, sipping his coffee, ignoring the death glare from Derek. “Miguel,” he added as an afterthought.

“Yeah, well Kira wanted the longer, flowy dress, but I liked the tighter, shorter, kinda strappy looking one. It looks like claw marks kinda. So those are the shoes for Kira’s dress. These,” she opened another box to reveal another pair of black stilettos, just as tall, but they were open toed, and had fringe along the middle of the front, straps coming up to meet it from the sides, and they looked to be right at the ankle, making them look a little tactical. “These go with my dress.”

“So this dress, you have it? I’m confused,” Stiles began, and immediately shrugged at the glare from Malia. Wow. The Hale Glare must be genetic.

“Why don’t you go try some of it on?” Derek asked. “You know, see if you like them, and if you don’t, we can return whatever you don’t like.”

“A fashion show?” Peter asked in annoyance. “I’m leaving.”

“No, you’re staying where I can see you until the hunters leave,” Derek replied calmly. “Scott, Stiles, since I know they picked out the stuff, why don’t you two hang around. Isaac, Liam? If you guys want, you can leave. This will probably be boring for you.”

They were both staring at the two sets of heels you and Malia were holding, their video game long paused and forgotten, and almost spoke in unison, “No, it’s cool. Safety in numbers, right?”

You rolled your eyes, grabbing a handful of bags and making your way up the stairs. Something fell and you sighed as you kept going, deciding to pick it up on your way back down. As you dumped the bags on the bed, the three girls trailing behind you with their own arms full, you turned to head back down the stairs and pick up the stray item, only to see Peter hold up the lingerie with a smirk. “No one told me what pair of heels goes with this….”

You snatched it out of Peter’s hand, spinning on your heel to stomp away before you paused, turning back to him. Leaning in close, you whispered exaggeratedly, “I don’t know yet, either. But you can ask Derek later to find out. I’m sure he’ll see them long before you ever do.”

Seeing the couch void of bags, you made your way back up to the room, and slammed the door, hearing the whoops from the guys, and Derek threatening to kill Peter yet again.

Kira was confused. “Why are they-”

You held up the green lacy garment. “Oh” they all said in unison.

You nodded. “Peter wanted to know which shoes went with this.”

Lydia smirked. “Well, they are my favorite, so, too bad he’ll never know.”

Xxx

After what felt like decades of marching up and down the stairs in clothes and shoes, it was over.

Lydia had good taste. They all did. Malia’s dress and shoe choice had them all staring slack jawed. Kira’s had pretty much the same effect, but when you did a little twirl and the dress flew out a little bit you caught Derek smiling. Lydia’s combo had wolf whistles before you hit the second step, so you immediately turned around once you reached the bottom and walked back up.

Then the basics like workout gear and whatnot.

Finally, after the stench of all the perfume the stores always sprayed on the bags, you were starting to get a headache, so you thanked the girls, and admitted you didn’t want to take any of it back, but would make a decision later after you showered.

Using the new soaps they had got you, you took a long hot shower, realizing you hadn’t showered after the thing with Scott last night. After stepping out, you decided to let your hair air dry, and put on some of the makeup they had bought.

Throwing on a blue shirt that cut off just below your belly button, some high rise jean shorts, the one pair of low rise black converse Lydia had indulged you in, and tying a coordinating flannel around your waist because you knew Beacon Hills always got cold at night, you ran your fingers through your hair a few times, letting it do what it wanted, the hair band around your wrist just in case, you went to go downstairs right as a knock sounded on the door.

Opening it to see Lydia, she smiled as she took in the outfit. “Well, you’ll blend right in here,” she said, coming in and closing the door, looking at something in her hands. “I remembered your tattoo from last night, and I just wanted to give you this. I saw it and couldn’t pass it up.”

It was a necklace from one of the clothing stores you had told her to go to, and wasn’t precious metal or anything, but none of that mattered, it was precious to you. It was a silver arrowhead on a silver chain that looked like it would hang a few inches above your belly button.

You looked up at her, tears brimming in both of your eyes. “Thank you.”

“You said that one on your back was to keep moving you forward, but this one points down. To remember to look around you, where you are now. To remember you’re not alone anymore. You’re never going to be alone ever again. Even when you think you are, we always find our way back. We’re family. It’s just how it works.” She was really choked up, and you were getting there yourself.

Pulling her into a hug, you thanked her again, and felt her silent acknowledgement as she nodded against your shoulder, before taking a deep, shuddering breath. “Scott was right. Allison would have really liked you.”

You pulled the necklace on. “Thank you. Well, from what I’ve heard, I think I would have really liked her, too.”

Making your way down the stairs, Lydia a few steps behind you, you caught Scott’s eye, and saw him smile at the necklace glancing behind you at Lydia with a small nod, before looking back to you. “Nice necklace.”

“Well, hey, hey, hey! Look who’s looking normal!” Stiles said abruptly, making you laugh after a moment.

Walking over to the desk, you set down the picture frame Lydia had gotten, simple smooth wood, with the letter from earlier on proud display behind the glass, and ignored the eye roll from Derek.

“Hey!” Stiles smiled and pointed at it, and you smirked, looking over at Derek, who had a single eyebrow cocked at you in both amusement and question.

You shrugged. “What? Just marking my territory, so to speak. No need to pee on such a nice desk to get the point across.”

Derek chuckled, shaking his head as you slid over to him, wrapping an arm around his waist, and feeling his own wrap around you tightly. “You look just like you did in High School.”

You smiled, going on tippy toes to whisper in his ear, “I can guarantee you won’t be saying that with some of the other stuff I didn’t show on the catwalk.”

He swallowed roughly before turning to you. “Why do you do that when I’m stuck with a million other people in my own damn loft because of danger that you brought?”

“Because. I like to see you squirm.”

“Well, so do I,” he smirked, and it was smug, as you lightly swatted at his upper arm, your own grin betraying you, “but I can’t do that because of the million other people forced to stay here.”

“I’m sorry. I know it’s my fault they are here. As soon as I clear my name, kick some ass, and remind those bastard hunters why the story books say to be afraid of us, I will make it up to you.”

“That’s all I ask,” Derek said, sniffing a little to sound snooty as he stuck his nose up in the air. “Miguel,” he added with a smile.


	6. Chapter 6

**Derek Hale x Reader (x ~~a little bit of~~ Pack)**

**A/N: This chapter is also fluff and set up for what’s to come. And yes, I know some characters might be a little OOC (and I literally mean little) but it will make sense in the next part. Sigh. Yes. I will write more.**

**Words:** 3,710

 **Warnings:** None that I know of? Well, mention of _implied_ activities, but mainly joking. (Actually, mention of dead characters, so, a feels warning. And some light swearing.)

**I do not own Teen Wolf or it’s characters. Sadly.**

Xxx

The pack was staying one more night, since the school week was coming around again, and also because, to be honest, it was fun.

You all had pack bonding time, and you soon found out the other reason behind Stiles’ binge buying, as the rapidly depleting food stocks bought only that morning started to disappear more rapidly as the night wore on.

No fighting, no tests, aside from Peter being Peter, you all just talked, laughed, let a movie play in the background, and gorged yourself on comfort foods.

Easing your way onto the balcony, you sat and watched the sunset as the city lights began to twinkle on. Bracing your palms on the ledge, and hanging your head, you took a deep breath, letting it out on a shaky sigh as you looked back toward the lights.

The door opening and closing registered in your mind, but you were too at ease to care. Besides, you could smell Scott the second the door was open, your heckles rising figuratively at the initial thought of another Alpha so near, but soon you remembered you were safe, you were home, he was family.

Silently he came up beside you, leaving a few inches between as he leant on his elbows and took in the skyline with you. You matched his pose, going down onto your elbows, and the two of you watched in silence.

After a few minutes, Scott was the first to speak. “So, how is it being back in Beacon Hills after so long?” His voice was soft, along with his smile, and he turned his face toward you, waiting for a reply.

You smiled gently. “A whirlwind.” You both chuckled. “If it were under different circumstances I would be a bit happier about it, but, you know. You take what life gives you.”

“Different how?” Scott prodded. “Do you wish you weren’t a True Alpha? Or an Alpha at all? Or that hunters hadn’t followed? Or-”

“Scott,” you said, the small smile still on your face as you looked at him, and you gestured with a small wave of your hand for him to stop, never moving from your elbows.

“Sorry,” he chuckled, reaching back to rub his neck in embarrassment quickly before returning to your matching positions.

“It’s okay. Really. I-” you stopped and looked out at the skyline again and felt Scott follow suit only a few seconds after. “Does it make me a horrible person if I don’t know?” You asked softly. “I mean, yes, I want my family here, but,” remaining on your elbows, you brought one arm close and grabbed the necklace Lydia had given you, holding the arrowhead tight as you moved your arm back out, rubbing your thumb along the triskelion on your opposite wrist. “In a way, they still are. And then, if they were, then all of the last two days, all of that bonding would be totally different. And while Peter is a pain in the ass,” you both chuckled again, “I still wouldn’t have changed the last two days.”

You looked back to him. “Does that make me horrible? I practically just washed my hands of my family. At least it feels like it.”

“No,” he shook his head simply, still looking at the skyline before turning his face back to you. “No, I don’t think it makes you a horrible person. And I don’t think you are washing your hands of your family, either.” He looked back out at the skyline. “It’s just the hand you’ve been dealt. It sucks, but it’s what you’ve got. Believe me.” He looked to your necklace, a soft smile you hadn’t seen on his face yet turn up his lips. “I know.”

You both shared a look before turning back to the ever darkening, ever more twinkling skyline, letting the night sit comfortably between you two.

“So, this Allison you speak of,” you finally said, in a somewhat silly voice that you honestly had no idea where it came from, but knew it was right when Scott cracked that smile one more time. “Everyone keeps saying we would have gotten along like ice cream and sprinkles, but I haven’t heard a lot about her yet.” Scott turned his head to look at you, that dopey smile yet again on his face. “Tell me about the girl that changed your life, Scott McCall. Tell me the story of the wolf and his huntress.”

The smile hadn’t gone anywhere, and it didn’t seem to be leaving anytime soon. He looked out to the skyline, his eyes sparkling of their own accord. “I don’t even know where to start.”

“At the beginning,” you said softly.

Everything about this conversation was soft, except for the emotions. They were roaring and painful and the kind of things you push down and don’t ever talk about again. But somehow, here, in the dark of the night, they had a special glow to them, making them soft and warm. Making them easy. And in a way, it was freeing, unburdening yourself, but it also left a hole that only the light emanating from the memories could heal, and it did that quickly.

“Tell me about the first time you saw her.”

“Like what, what do you want to know? How I felt? What day it was? What she looked like?” Scott was rambling, but it seemed to be more out of excitement to share a part of his life with someone who understands and hasn’t heard it yet.

You smiled widely, nearly whispering, fearing you might break his moment with a simple word making a sound. “Just tell me everything.”

“You got all night?” He joked, pulling back to rest on his palms while you stayed on your elbows.

“Scott. We are creatures of the night. Don’t be stupid.”

He laughed. “Okay, okay, smartass.” After a moment he was back down on his elbows, gesturing with his hands, and talking a mile a minute.

Their story was a little bit like yours and Derek’s. Forbidden love, miscommunication, secrets and saboteurs. But in the end, while you may have left voluntarily, unlike Allison, you both left saying the same words. _I love you_.

Xxx

After he was done, long after midnight, both of you glanced inside to see the pack sound asleep, a few stragglers sucked into whatever movie was on, and Derek obviously listening in as he tried to look busy cleaning the mess left by a pack of supernatural teenagers.

“So tell me about you and Derek.” His question startled you more than it should have.

“What about me and Derek?”

“Well, I just told you my gut wrenching love story,” he leaned against the wall behind the window, somehow the two of you had made your way to the same spots you and Derek had occupied that morning. “Obviously yours has a better ending, since you are both here to explain. So?”

You sighed, shooting him a scowl but failing. “Scott,” you reached out and put your hand on his. “You know Allison dying was not your fault.” He looked straight forward, then down at your hands. “You can’t save everyone.”

“But I should be able to. I’m a True Alpha.”

“So am I, and look where I am. Look who I lost.”

He quickly looked up to meet your eyes. “I didn’t mean-”

“Shhhh,” you stopped him, making yourself smile through the pain, closing your eyes for a moment. “I know. Was the fire Derek’s fault? Just because of Kate? No. Blaming yourself for deaths by proximity is going to get you nowhere, Scott. You don’t have to let go. Allison will always be with you.” You traced his tattoo on his arm through his pullover. “Just like my family is always with me.” You held the necklace and traced the tattoo on your wrist. “And Derek’s with him.” You paused, holding up your wrist, tracing it like you had before. “Imagine this, but bigger and on Derek’s back.”

Scott laughed loudly.

“And Peter coming back doesn’t count. I’m talking about the people we made marks to remember, because they made such a mark on us, we had to show the scars somehow.”

He looked at you.

“We heal super fast so we forget, but, not all scars are bad. In fact, no scar is bad. To me, it’s a reminder. It means you made it through something, whether a scrape on your knee from that time someone jumped out in the hall and scared you, all the way down to the scars we would have after all the battles we have fought, had we not healed after walking away. It’s nature’s way of helping us hide our secret. It’s self preservation. But so is this,” you pointed to your tattoo.

“This is how we cope, how we remember all the times we walked away, whether we won or not. We’re still here. We made it. And with everything we’ve got left, we will honor those who fell and couldn’t get back up long before it was their turn. Simply because they loved us, in some form or another, enough to stand by us and fight. We have to continue to fight, for them. But more importantly, we need to continue to walk away, no matter how bad the bloodshed, no matter how bad the heartache, no matter how heavy the losses. We do it for them.”

He nodded, smiling sadly. “How did this become our lives?”

You laughed, long and hard, throwing your head back and clutching your stomach. “Well, if you really wanna know….” Scott’s eyes grew wider like a kid at story time. “I was born into a family of werewolves, so I knew what they were, but I didn’t turn for the first time until I was almost seventeen.”

Xxx

_Derek had coached you through shifts once you found out, because the beta with the blue eyes was your anchor._

_It was shortly after Paige had died, and both of your families being friends, he had confided in you what happened. Which was odd. Because up until about a month before that, he didn’t even want to tell you his class schedule._

_For some reason he opened up to you seemingly overnight, and after your first shift, that was when you knew._

_You were mates._

_And for some reason, Peter didn’t like that. Maybe because Derek used to always confide in him, and suddenly you were the only one he would talk to about certain things. Regardless, Peter started spreading lies about one pack to the other, and soon, after blaming some deaths on innocent werewolves, and territory discrepancies he blew way out of hand, despite everyone knowing the two of you were destined, they told you to stay apart._

Xxx

“So you two are in love?” He said the last word in a ridiculous way, and you bumped shoulders with him. You knew Derek was listening.

“Maybe….” You felt your cheeks tinge pink as you smiled, Scott chuckling. “Remember when Peter said he had to pull us apart literally?” Scott nodded. “While he was smack talking and made it seem dirtier than it was, he actually did pull us physically apart. We had just given one another the special mate acceptance bite, and that was what he pulled us apart from.” Scott’s jaw was dropped, and you held your hands up in surrender. “We were fully clothed! Nothing happened! Or at least, it hadn’t yet.”

Scott looked straight forward. “Ew.”

You shoved him with a little extra strength, knocking him over on his side, only for him to pop back up quickly. “That was the reason Kate happened. The bond between mates has to be finalized with certain acts, and since we didn’t get that far, Derek didn’t feel the pull of the bond like we were supposed to.”

“What about Jennifer?”

“Same situation, although, thank you for reminding me of another reason to punch Derek in the face later on. Peter, too.” Scott chuckled as you looked straight forward. “Mainly Peter. If we had cemented the bond, then those two wouldn’t have happened. Along with any others along the way.”

You turned your face back to Scott. “Use your eyes.”

“What?”

“Scott. Work with me here. Turn on the stop lights we have for eyes and look at me.”

He did what you asked, and you pulled your shirt on your left shoulder to the side. Right on the pulse point Derek had not left alone the night before you knew Scott could see the faint glow of a bite mark.

“It would be brighter if we-”

“Yeah, yeah, I got it,” Scott swatted at you disgustedly as he turned around to look for Derek through the windows, nearly screaming when he saw Derek was already standing there, arms crossed like always, scowling.

“Don’t be such a-”

“Don’t say it,” Derek cut you off, waving his finger at you through the glass, before smiling and going around and coming out to join you two, sitting on the other side of Scott.

“Dude!” Scott whined. “I nearly had a heart attack!”

“Oh, please. You would have healed,” Derek waved him off, and you laughed as Scott scoffed. “Plus, it’s not like you’ve never done it before.” At least Scott had the decency to look sheepish at that.

One glance, and Derek sighed, pulling his shirt on his left shoulder to the side to reveal the pulse point, and Scott flicked his eyes to see the same faint glow. “No wonder you always wore jackets and stuff,” Scott said, his voice far away in thought.

“Yeah. Now can you turn off the neons and quit staring at my neck? It’s weirding me out.”

Scott complied and turned to you. “Why didn’t you get here sooner? True Alpha or not, you make him tolerable.” He turned around to face Derek again, and jumped at the scowl being shot his way, and you laughed, earning a small grin from Derek. “See?” Scott pointed, looking at you, and jumping once again when he looked back to Derek to see the scowl back. “Dude. Quit changing your face so fast. It’s weird, and unnatural, and like some facial ninja. Just stop it.”

“Facial ninja?” Both you and Derek said in unison looking at the other in question.

“I don’t know! It’s just weird, okay?”

“Okay,” you said laughing, patting the spot on your neck. “But remember what I said, Scott. We don’t always scar, but that just means we found a way to make it through. And the marks we do get to keep, even if only special eyes can see them, are there for a reason.” You grabbed his hand again. “For someone.”

“I’m on your side,” Scott mused quietly.

“What?”

“Just something Allison said once,” he looked to Derek. “Right after Gerard showed up and we were in my house and found out it was Jackson and not Lydia,” he looked back to you.

“She said, ‘I’m on your side, Scott.’” He gently grabbed his bicep with the tattoo, and lightly ran his thumb back and forth over his sweatshirt, as if holding a significant other’s hand.

“‘I’m always on your side.’” He looked down to his own hand, his thumb stilling before he gave the arm a quick squeeze and a pat before abruptly standing up with a sniff and dopey grin. “Well, I am partied out, and you haven’t slept since you got here, so I don’t know how you are still functioning. But I am going to go and push Stiles off the couch and get some sleep. Goodnight!”

You waited until he was back inside, knowing he could probably still hear you, but was too consumed with his thoughts to even think about it. “Does he always get like that about Allison?” You looked to Derek who was moving into the place Scott vacated.

He nodded slowly. “I know how he feels,” he looked over to you, turning his head as it rested against the wall, mimicking your own, and took your hand as it rested in your lap. “They were supposed to be together, and they knew it. They broke up near the end, and I think it was fate’s way of bracing them for the impact.” He smiled sadly. “Scott said she told him, ‘There’s no such thing as fate.’ And he just smiled and said, ‘There’s no such thing as werewolves.’”

You felt a tear run down your face despite your smile. “Yeah, I think I would have really liked her.”

Derek returned the smile, wiping away the tear with his thumb, much like the motion Scott had made on his own arm. A tender touch reserved only for those moments where the ones you truly love need it. “Yeah. She reminded me a lot of you.”

There was a clatter, Stiles screeching, moans going around at the disturbance, and muttering as Stiles scooped up his pillow and walked away to another spot.

You and Derek burst out laughing. “Reminds me of a few sleepovers at your old house,” you mused.

“Yeah, but Laura was like a log when she slept. Dead weight. I almost couldn’t get her ass off the couch.”

You snorted a laugh, seeing Kira and Scott huddled together on the couch, smiling as they drifted off to sleep. “Allison may have been his intended, but like you said, fate stepped in before the end. That’s about when Kira showed up, isn’t it?”

“Yeah, now that you mention it.” He looked at you, eyebrows narrowed. “How did you know that?”

“Intuition. Foxes and wolves aren’t supposed to get along.” You looked back to Derek. “But neither are hunters and werewolves.”

“I proved that with Kate,” he mumbled, not meeting your eyes.

You reached out, lifting his chin until he met your gaze, and couldn’t help but smile at the sight of those eyes you missed. “But fate has a twisted sense of humor.” You let your eyes glow for emphasis. “It has a way of showing you what you are going to need before it takes something away. Like that game where the ball is under one cup, and you get to see it once, and you have to figure out which one it’s under after the board is rearranged.”

You let your eyes continue to glow as you looked back at Scott and Kira. “Fate has been kind to Scott, despite all the twists it’s thrown at him. After all, he was able to meet two mates on one lifetime, let alone they overlapped.”

You looked back to Derek, pulling his shirt aside and staring at the fading mark as he leaned into your hand for comfort. Letting your eyes fade and his shirt go, you met his eyes one more time. “I’m just glad it let me find mine a second time.”

You sat together, his thumb running along the back of your hand repeatedly, the silence comfortable, the action comforting.

Derek glanced into the livingroom. “Looks like everyone is crashed down here, and Peter took your room.”

You scoffed, trying to get to your feet, but Derek easily pulled you back down. “No. Let him be. Means he won’t sneak out and make trouble, and you can sleep in my bed with me down here. He won’t dare try and sneak out on two Alpha’s, much less two True Alpha’s.”

“Not to mention, one of them is me.”

Derek laughed loudly. “True. I think you officially scared him multiple times in the last few days.”

You yawned as you spoke. “Good. Because I’m gonna kick his ass.”

Derek chuckled. “Not if you don’t get some sleep. And I can only survive on so much more coffee. Come on.” He pulled you to your feet as he stood, scooping you up and carrying you bridal style.

“What about pajamas?” You were drifting, your speech beginning to slur.

“Well, do those things Lydia got count as pajamas?” You lightly slapped his chest and smiled. “Just kidding. Birthday suit is always a good option.”

You lightly slapped his chest again, hearing him chuckle. “Derek Hale. We are surrounded by teenagers we have to keep safe. Don’t think I won’t fight something just because I’m stark naked, but that doesn’t mean I want to.”

He had to bite back a laugh. “Luckily, while Scott was telling you his story, I washed all your new clothes. The perfume was nauseating. I had to get rid of it. So,” he set your feet down on the floor in front of a washer and dryer, a laundry basket full of your new clothes neatly folded sitting on top of the washer. “Lydia folded them all,” he said, scratching at the back of his neck with nerves. “Said I was ‘ruining the creases’, or something.”

You laughed lightly and grabbed a pair that was conveniently on top. Thank you, Lydia.

“What about you? Jeans can’t be comfortable.”

He held up a pair of black sweats, giving them a little shake, and you laughed. “Okay, okay, I get it. You’re prepared.”

Walking into a little bathroom you had spotted earlier, you closed the door softly and changed, leaving your hair down and folding up the clothes you had been wearing, leaving them to rest on the counter. You took off the necklace and set it on top.

Walking back out and toward a now sweats clad Derek, you narrowed your eyebrows at his own already raised curiously.

“Oh, that’s cute.” His voice was dripping with sarcasm.

Raising an eyebrow at Derek, he nodded to your shirt with a smirk and after looking down and reading it, you rolled your eyes. It said, “I love you this much” in scrolling font below an image of a full moon.

Crawling into the bed on opposite sides, you curled up close to Derek, nuzzling into the side of his neck. It wasn’t the side with the mark, but it would do. So long as you could smell him and know you really had found your way back home, that was all that mattered.

That, and finding a cure for the multiple snores drifting your way from the living room.


	7. Chapter 7

**Derek Hale x Reader (x ~~a little bit of~~ Pack)**

**A/N: This chapter is also fluff and set up for what’s to come. Also getting a little angsty. Sigh, you knew it was inevitable. And yes, I know some characters might be a little OOC (and I literally mean little) but it will make sense in the next part. Sigh. Yes. I will write more.**

**Words:** 1,514

 **Warnings:** None that I know of? Well, it starts and ends really fluffy and happy, but gets angsty in the middle. (Actually, mention of dead characters, so, a feels warning. And some light swearing.)

**I do not own Teen Wolf or it’s characters. Sadly.**

Xxx

The last way you expected to spend your Sunday began with a jolt.

Literally.

“Dogpile!” Some random voice cried, before you and a still snoring Derek were covered with your laughing pack members. A groan emanated from where you guessed Derek to be in the mass of limbs, the mattress bouncing slightly still from the initial impact.

“If you all don’t get off in the next five seconds, I will-”

“You will what?” Stiles’ voice challenged you back teasingly.

“One.”

“Ooooo, now she’s counting,” Stiles mocked, and you heard a few small laughs.

“Two.”

“Stiles, I think we should back off, man,” Scott said, and you felt a few bodies agree and remove their weight from the pile.

“Three.”

“Oh, come on, what is she going to do?” Stiles asked in a voice that held no trace of fear.

You smirked. “When I get to five, you’ll find out.”

The remaining bodies went stiff before scrambling away, Stiles grumbling something about empty threats, although he smelled slightly of fear now.

“Deaton wants to meet with Y/N at his office today,” Scott said, looking at a text on his phone. You must have looked nervous, because Scott was quick to assure you they were all coming with you.

“What, do I have my own backup dancers now or something?” You mused quietly, faintly smiling.

“No,” Stiles said. “Isaac, Lydia, and Liam are backup singers. Everyone else dances. I just choreograph, although, I do a mean sprinkler.”

No one responded for a moment until you finally broke the ice. “The sprinkler, huh? Well, I do a mean moonwalk….”

“Really?!” Stiles was ecstatic.

“No,” Derek answered for you, laughing. “It was a moon joke. Werewolf, shifting, moonwalk….”

Everyone groaned. You shrugged. “What? I grew up surrounded by wolves, okay? Imagine bad dad jokes times a thousand, and all about wolfy things.”

“Well, thanks to you,” Stiles gestured your way, his tone sarcastic, “we no longer have to imagine.” You threw a pillow at him. “Hey! Don’t be such a Sourwolf.”

You looked at Derek, his eyebrows already raised at you. “I am so sorry. I will never call you that again. However fitting it may be.”

Derek laughed. “Yeah, I’ll believe that when I see it.”

Stiles laughed sarcastically and threw the pillow back at you, and you caught it with ease. “Well, I am off to get donuts for us all,” he held up Derek’s credit card, and Derek just groaned and fell back against his pillow, covering his face with his hands and muttering things only wolfy ears could hear.

A few snickers went around to those that heard, and you smacked Derek’s arm, making him look at you through his fingers. “That’s not nice!” But you laughed as you said it, and could see the crinkle of Derek’s eyes, revealing the hidden smile under his hands.

“I will check with my dad on the way out to see what’s been going on. Make sure we have an all clear to go to Deaton’s.” He pointed at you. “But, I still think you should go incognito, regardless. The least wolfy thing you own.”

“Stiles. It’s not like my shirt says, ‘I’m a werewolf’.”

“Yeah, but walking beside Pookie Bear over here, you may as well have a shirt with a giant arrow that says, ‘I’m with wolfboy’.”

“Just go get the damn donuts, Stiles!” You and Derek said in unison.

The rest of the pack had dispersed around the loft. Apparently the girls had bought themselves a few things as well yesterday and went to change. Hopping out of bed, you made your way to the kitchen, determined to make coffee. Writing names on the glasses, you heard footsteps coming down the steps from the room Peter had hijacked from you last night.

“Peter,” you set your voice to a tone of authority. “Want any coffee this morning? You get the fuschia marker.” Looking up with a smirk you were greeted by Scott at the bottom of the steps looking worriedly at Derek, before looking to you.

“Peter’s gone.”

Xxx

The words echoed in your mind as you began to hyperventilate, dropping the mug with his name written on it, and seeing it fall in slow motion.

A hand caught it before it shattered, and set it on the counter, before lightly taking your arms in its grasp. Looking up, you were met with Derek’s eyes, his mouth moving, but you could hardly hear him.

You glanced around the loft, muttering, the living room filling with everyone else, watching you as you stared blankly over Derek’s shoulder, meeting their eyes, but not really seeing them. “He’s gone. He’s gonna kill me. He’s gonna tell them where I am. Where we are. They will kill us all.” You looked up into Derek’s eyes, his voice finally reaching your ears, but you ignored it. “They’re all gonna die because of me! Everyone I love dies! Why? Why, Derek?! What did I ever do to deserve everything that has happened?!”

The flash of blue eyes calmed you down, but your name being yelled by an Alpha and the bright red eyes that matched it finally broke you from the vicious cycle, making you flash your own eyes briefly at Scott.

You began pacing. Derek grabbed your shoulders, stopping you, making you look at him. “Y/N, this is a complete reversal from the last two days. What is wrong? Tell me. Let me help. Let us help.”

Your voice was small and shaky. “Your family. My family. Allison. Erica. Boyd. They are all dead because of this. Of what we are. What I am. The stupid True Alpha curse bringing every hunter and his brother along to try and kill us just to brag about it later. I put anyone I talk to in danger, simply because of what and who I am.” Your voice grew, and you felt tears coming. “Peter caused so much of that, I know, but still. I have watched too many people die in my life. I refuse to watch any more, and here I am, practically leading everyone in this room to slaughter!”

“Blaming yourself for deaths by proximity is going to get you nowhere, Y/N. You don’t have to let go. They’ll always be with you.” You heard Scott say from behind you, repeating what you had told him last night, and suddenly the necklace Lydia had given you yesterday was gently placed around your neck. Turning, you found yourself looking slightly up to meet Scott’s eyes. “We’re on your side, Y/N.” He smiled faintly. “We’re always on your side.”

You looked around the room, and only saw concern for you on everybody’s faces. No fear, no dread, no wishing they had turned and walked away after finding out who you were. No, you saw something akin to love. Looking down at the arrow, you remembered Lydia saying to use it as a marker. You clutched it tight, looking at Derek, and anchoring yourself to the here and now.

“If it helps,” you heard Lydia’s voice softly approaching. “I predict death. And so far, not a single foreboding thought has come to mind, knock on wood.” Everyone reached out and knocked on the closest wooden surface, including you, and you smiled softly, seeing her do the same. Reaching out to put a hand on both your arms, she laughed gently. “Well, except for Stiles, if he doesn’t get back here with those donuts soon, but that’s just my own personal wish.”

“I think we all share that wish,” Malia grumbled as her stomach growled loudly, and everyone laughed.

“Thank you, guys,” you said after a moment, staring at the floor. “I, uh…. I don’t know why I freaked out. It used to happen a lot before I left, I guess Peter just brings out that side of me.”

“Hey, Stiles gets panic attacks,” Scott said, “I used to have to use an inhaler.”

“I still have night terrors,” Isaac said softly.

“I have panic attacks and nightmares about some of the stuff we’ve fought,” Liam added.

“I think being what we are, and knowing what we know, a freak out once in awhile is allowed.” Derek was the last to speak, and you looked to him, seeing a new look in his eyes.

Being together again, even just in the same room, for the first time since the bite all those years ago, the bond between the two of you was growing stronger. He could sense your emotions, and once you realized that, you focused and felt him trying to send you reassurance. You smiled and noticed a spark in his eye when you tried doing the same, and you both shared a smile.

He wrapped you in a hug just when the loft door slid open and Stiles had two large bags full of boxes of donuts, along with one powdered donut in his mouth, the sugar all over the front of him. Looking around the room, frozen, he spoke around the donut, his voice muffled. “What?”


	8. Chapter 8

**Derek Hale x Reader (x ~~a little bit of~~ Pack)**

**A/N: This chapter is also fluff and set up for what’s to come. Also getting a little angsty. Sigh, you knew it was inevitable. And yes, I know some characters might be a little OOC (and I literally mean little) but it will make sense in the next part. Sigh. Yes. I will write more.**

**Words:** 1,650

 **Warnings:** None that I know of? Well, it starts and ends really fluffy and happy, but gets angsty in the middle. (Actually, mention of dead characters, so, a feels warning. And some light swearing.)

**I do not own Teen Wolf or it’s characters. Sadly.**

Xxx

You decided to avoid the feeding frenzy that ensued once Stiles placed the donuts on the table, and continued to make the coffee instead. Standing right beside you, leaning against the counter, Derek was labeling the freshly washed mugs, smirking a bit as he grabbed that damned fuschia marker and mumbled as he wrote, “Abominable Snowman.” Seeing your raised eyebrow in his peripheral, he glanced up at you, still smiling. “It’s a long story. Stiles, here’s your cup.”

You just nodded, humming in agreement as you went back to the coffee. Quickly glancing, you saw nicknames on all the mugs, ranging from “Mini Hale”, which you assumed was Malia, to “Foxy”, which made you grin when you saw Kira take it with a smirk and a blush. Liam took one dubbed “Tiny”, Isaac’s saying “Smartass”, Lydia pursed her lips when she read “Shopaholic” on her mug, and Scott growled playfully with an eye roll at being dubbed “Puppy”.

“What is up with you? I have known you forever and I don’t think I have seen you this…. Whatever the hell it is…. Well, ever. Are you feeling okay?” You asked Derek, putting a hand to his forehead playfully. 

“Fine, fine,” he glanced up at your hand and swatted it away, chuckling. “Just embracing a day of relative silence with a much needed release of sarcasm from my system.” He had a devious grin as he handed you your mug marked “Miguel”.

You almost choked on your coffee when you noticed his mug read, “Supreme Alpha of Awesome”.

Peter’s mug sat untouched, and you saw Derek follow your gaze, snarling when he saw it. Grabbing it angrily, he swiped a line through the name and wrote underneath, “Asshole”, before setting it down again.

A snort of laughter made Derek look at you with a smirk, but it soon melted into something more serious. “Hey,” he put a hand on your arm, and a warm, reassuring feeling washed over you. “I know we need to know a few things. You want some answers, and the rest of us need some answers, but…. Are you sure you want to just delve into all this? Remember what your mom used to always say?”

You sighed, feeling his thumb trace over your arm gently, the murmur of bickering over pastries faint in the background as you eyed Peter’s cup with a nod. “‘The devil’s in the details’.”

Xxx

_You had come home in a foul mood. Derek had ignored you all of a sudden. After years of being one of his best friends, suddenly he had clammed up, and was practically ignoring you._

_A soft knock came to your bedroom door, and it opened a crack to reveal your mother, a cautious but warm smile on her face. “You okay, Honey?”_

_You sighed, which made her laugh gently._

_“Mind if I come in?”_

_Another sigh as you fell back on your bed was all the answer she needed._

_“What’s wrong?” She stood just inside your room, leaning a shoulder on the doorframe._

_“Derek.”_

_“I may be your mother, but I need more to go on than that.”_

_A frustrated sigh escaped your lips, and your mom chuckled an “oh” in understanding. You stared up at the ceiling as you spoke, your arms gesturing wildly. “He is suddenly ignoring me, and it annoys me. But I’m more annoyed at myself that I find it so annoying. It all just combines into this giant ball of…. Annoyance. God! Why is he being so….”_

_“Annoying?” Your mom tried, smirking._

_“For lack of a better word, yes,” you said smugly, trying to contain your grin. “I mean, I know things with he and Paige are getting kind of serious, but, it was never an issue before. Am I suddenly ‘that girl’? The one who hangs around with her friend and makes the girlfriend jealous? Because if so, I just wish he would tell me. I don’t mind. I get it.” You paused your rambling, your voice quieting. “I’ve seen the way he looks at her.”_

_Your mother sighed. “I know this is rough. I’m sorry. But, try not to analyze it so much. Just give him some space, and see if he comes to you. Don’t look too closely, because like I always say…. The devil’s in the details.”_

Xxx

Derek grabbing your hand and giving it a squeeze pulled you back. He had a curious look in his eye, and it almost looked sad. But before you could question it, you cleared your throat, plastering on a smile. “Yes, I know.” You squeezed his hand back before releasing it, cradling your mug in both hands as you leaned against the counter opposite him, studying the wall behind him.

“But this time I am the details.” You met his eyes once more, his face void of emotion as you continued. “I am the devil, so to speak.” 

His eyes studied your face, and you looked down to your mug, watching the steam rise before fading away. “We live in a world of so many rules and regulations, hell, even our grey areas have details, me being one example.” You felt the group begin to listen in, slowly crowding around the kitchen, but you continued on.

“Becoming a True Alpha required me to reach certain set standards. The story of how I got there is full of details, from the irony of the silver arrows the hunters used, even though they know it does no good, all the way to finding my way back to the place where it all fell apart to begin with, only to find a loft full of details, and the memories of others.” You looked back up to Derek, then began to look at the others as you spoke, taking in their faces, measuring their response.

“Our whole life is made up of details, whether we like them or not. I am choosing to face mine, look them right in the eye, and let my demons see - I’m not afraid of them anymore. They don’t define me. So why on earth would I let them have the honor of scaring me?”

You looked back to Derek, your voice softer now, carrying a hidden emotion only he could sense. “It’s time they know what it feels like to be haunted. Yes, the devil’s in the details, and that devil’s name is me. And today I’m going to give them a new story to tell. Mine. I haven’t finished writing it yet, hell, I haven’t even hardly started, but by the time I’m done, whenever that may be, I’ll tell you right now, it’s gonna be epic.”

Derek was grinning at you, and you couldn’t help but match it. Turning to the group, you could sense a wave of confidence roll through them. 

“That was phenomenal,” you heard Stiles’ voice break through the group, a wide grin on his face. “And I’m honestly terrified for Peter’s sake. But, and not to be a buzzkill or anything, we need to head to Deaton’s.”

Everyone nodded and slowly made their way out of the loft. “Just let me change real fast,” you said, setting your mug down, and turning toward the bathroom that had your clothes from yesterday. 

“Why don’t you ride with me, Y/N?” Stiles’ voice stopped you, and you turned to face him, bracing your hand on the doorframe of the bathroom. “Derek can lay in the backseat of the Jeep, so no one sees his face and connects the dots. If for some reason we have to talk to anyone, or we pull up at a stoplight, you are just a girl in my car. The hunters don’t have a picture of you or anything, right?”

You shook your head. “Not that I know of. Unless they went into my family’s house, which they probably did. So, it’s possible.”

“Okay. Well, with me you will turn less heads than with Derek, who the hunters around the globe could sketch blindfolded. They won’t be looking for me, so just wear a pair of sunglasses, and flip down the visor or something if we pull up beside a car at a stoplight on the way there.”

You noticed the loft had emptied, and quickly glancing at Derek, you agreed. “Sounds like a plan.”

Stiles smiled. “Great! I’ll meet you guys down there. Can I take this blanket for the back seat?” He asked Derek, pointing to the throw on the couch, taking it when Derek just rolled his eyes, before he disappeared, his footsteps fading down the staircase. 

Turning to look at Derek, you found him right in front of you, making you jump. “God! I forgot how quiet you are. Why are you looking at me like that?”

He smiled like a teenager. “Finally. I thought they would never leave. I’ve been waiting since they all showed up.”

You chuckled. “Waiting for what? Silence to brood in once again?”

He smirked. “No, smartass.” He was suddenly much closer than you realized, and it was a struggle to remember how to breathe. His arms wrapped gently around your waist as he came closer still. “I’ve been waiting for them to leave. So I could do this.”

The kiss was gentle, calm, almost tentative, and it brought you back to the first kiss you ever had. But inside your mind, the invisible tether between you and him cinched significantly tighter, making up for the slight sag in tension over the years, the mark on your neck feeling like it buzzed just underneath your skin. 

Pulling away, he leaned his forehead against yours, and looking into his eyes, a goofy smile on both your faces, you knew all that lost time had made up for itself in that one moment. Fate still had your souls tied together, and you could only hope that knot never had to be undone.


	9. Chapter 9

**Derek Hale x Reader (x ~~a little bit of~~ Pack)**

**A/N: This chapter is also fluff and set up for what’s to come. Also getting a little angsty. Sigh, you knew it was inevitable. And yes, I know some characters might be a little OOC (and I literally mean little) but it will make sense in the next part. Sigh. Yes. I will write more.**

**Words:** 3,105

 **Warnings:** None that I know of? Well, it has some suggestive suggesting. (Actually, mention of dead characters, so, a feels warning. And some light swearing.)

******I do not own Teen Wolf or it’s characters. Sadly.**

Xxx

“Well, we have the loft to ourselves for at least five minutes,” Derek said playfully, wiggling his eyebrows up and down in a ridiculous way.

You slapped his chest gently, chuckling, and earning a smile from him. “Oh, yeah, a quickie to seal the mate bond, a girl always dreams about that.”

Derek pulled back and laughed long and hard.

“You laugh,” you said teasingly, approaching the bathroom slowly, your clothes from yesterday still folded and waiting for you. “But just you wait. When it really happens, I expect it to be like the stories all the women in my family used to gossip about when they thought I was asleep.” You lingered in the doorway of the bathroom, feeling a small tug from the freshly repaired piece of the bond tugging on your gut.

Looking over your shoulder, you saw Derek breathing heavily through his nose, his eyes flickering between wolf and human. You grinned, letting your eyes glow their bright red. “Breathe, Derek. If you faint, I’m leaving you here while I go with the gang to Deaton’s.”

Closing the bathroom door behind you, you laughed when you heard a low growl of annoyance from Derek. You changed back into the clothes from yesterday, putting the arrow necklace on delicately, tracing it gently with your fingers. A knock on the door made you jump. Opening it revealed Derek in a baseball cap and aviators, holding out the same for you from the selection Lydia had purchased yesterday.

When you were about to leave the loft, Stiles slid the door open, taking a few steps before stopping and staring at the two of you side by side. “Oh, that’s not suspicious at all….”

You let your sunglasses slide down the bridge of your nose to peer over them at Stiles. “You’re the one who suggested this as my incognito look!”

“Yeah, but I didn’t take into account how that would look when you have two gorgeous people and put them side by side! Can’t you, like, turn off the beautifying gene you werewolves have, or something?”

Derek sighed. “Stiles, this is just how we look-”

“Oh, you look fine. I was just referring to Y/N, since she is sitting beside me in the Jeep while you hide under a blanket in the back seat. Meanwhile, up in the front seats, there will be too much beauty going on, people will get suspicious….”

You burst out laughing, you couldn’t help it. Derek had a look that was both brooding and terrifying, and Stiles’ sarcasm was off the charts. “Is this even really happening?” You wheezed out between laughs. “Beacon Hills hasn’t changed a bit!”

The silence and shift in atmosphere made you stop laughing, and look between the two as it died off into chuckles. “What?” The somber attitude stopped your laughing altogether and adopted the serious tone of the room. “What?” You asked again.

“Beacon Hills has changed a lot,” Derek said. “We need to get to Deaton’s. He’ll help explain.”

A sudden wave of worry washed over you as the three of you exited the loft, the echoing of the door sliding shut behind you ominous instead of the comforting feeling it had meant the last few days.

Xxx

You were at a stoplight, both visors down, hat pulled low, and sunglasses perched high on your nose. “I feel like I’m an escaped convict or something,” you mumbled to Stiles as you slouched down in the front passenger seat, smiling gently at his chuckle as you peered at the cop car following behind, leaving a few cars in between, in the side view mirror. Your eyes flicked over to the black SUV a few lanes over and further back, not surprised when you saw the driver’s eyes already looking at you, though he was probably making a guess at this distance.

Turning to Stiles, to appear like a normal person in conversation instead of talking to a seemingly vacant backseat, you spoke to Derek. “Isn’t Chris showing up at the vet’s along with a police car and this Jeep-”

“Roscoe,” Stiles interrupted, and you looked at him with a raised eyebrow. “I told you the Jeep is named Roscoe.”

You stared at him for a moment, the light still red, reflecting in his own sunglasses. “I’m still not ready to call it that,” You said dry as a bone, turning back to Derek and seeing his face poking out from under the blanket with an amused grin on his face.

“Isn’t it suspicious? Won’t other hunters be watching him since they know you guys have some sort of alliance?” You turned back forward, seeing the light turn green. “I don’t want anyone to get hurt.”

“They will all be too busy looking for you, and if they are smart enough to catch something off about the back parking lot of the vet’s, then Chris is the only one who can talk to them about it. He can send them on some wild goose chase with almost no convincing.” Derek reached out and touched your hand briefly before pulling it back under the blanket. “It’s gonna be okay.”

“Yeah, plus Parrish is going to drive rounds around, he won’t be in the parking lot.”

“The deputy deserves a break. He must be tired,” you remarked, looking in the rearview mirror at the squad car once again.

“He’s a Hellhound. He’ll cope.”

Stiles’ cry of surprise and pain at Derek’s light slap to the back of his head overlapped your “What?!” as the Jeep pulled up to another stoplight. You turned to Derek. “You didn’t tell me that!”

“It’s a new development….” Derek shrugged, looking sheepish, eyes flitting away from your stare to the back of the driver’s seat.

“Look, like Derek said, Beacon Hills has changed a lot. And a big chunk of that has to do with me, in a way. Like you said, I had a little bit of Fox in me, but that is a long story that Deaton is much better equipped to explain.” Stiles punched the gas as the light turned green, pausing his explanation and glancing in the rearview mirror as you and Derek were pressed into the backs of your seats from the abrupt acceleration.

Looking in the mirror yourself, you caught a glimpse of a second cop car pulling over what must have been a hunter, the Sheriff stepping out not long after. Stiles had a sharp intake of breath, anxiety rolling off of him in waves as he looked in the mirror briefly once again at the dot of blinking lights now far behind. “Long story short,” he looked back to the road with a loud sigh. “Beacon Hills is now literally a beacon for the supernatural, and it’s like they have been staring at the sky, just waiting for that beam to know they could come out of the woodwork. There are things that even Derek thought were just legends or ghost stories-”

“Like me,” you said softly, looking at Stiles, who shot you a sideways glance before looking back to the road with a small nod.

Pulling into the parking lot of the vet’s, Stiles stopped the Jeep, and threw the gearshift into park, making the car lurch and rock gently, the engine idling as his hand continued up to cover his mouth as he stared straight forward at the back of the building. Rubbing his chin vigorously he parted his fingers and spoke softly. “Like you,” his hand fell to his lap with a thump.

Turning to you, he glanced at Derek who sat up in the back seat before looking at you. “And like me.” You were silent as you waited for him to continue, his eyes darting around as he looked for the right words. “Deaton will tell you everything, but I want you to know something going in. You said this morning, ‘the Devil’s in the details, and that Devil’s name is me’, and, well…. I could say the same thing. A Nogitsune came around a while back, and,” Stiles laughed darkly, averting his gaze for a moment. “It decided I was just right for him.”

You reached out and placed a hand on his own that still rested in his lap, and he looked down at it with a sad smile as he continued.

“I remember everything. Everything I…. Everything _it_ did, and…. I…. _It_ is the reason Allison,” he looked up to meet your eyes once again, “and so many others are gone now.”

Derek placed a hand on Stiles’ shoulder, giving a gentle squeeze.

“I just wanted you to know what I…. _It_ did before you go in there, because, there is a lot to take in, and I don’t want you to think I’m evil, or anything, like Peter.” His voice was soft now, tears growing in his eyes. “I’m not like him.”

“No, you’re not. You’re nothing like him, you never were, and you never will be. Peter is a special breed….” You all chuckled at the terrible pun. “And so are you.” You squeezed his hand. “You beat it. You lived to tell the tale, and from what I can remember, not many, if any, have done that with that bastard of a Fox. You may be a human, Stiles, but you are stronger than any of us. We live with power, and when we get a taste of more, it’s hard to let go. It’s in our nature to cling to the higher position, but that makes us weak. You scared the hell out of that demon,” you smiled as he rolled his eyes and groaned at the pun. “And knowing Peter, he probably offered to turn you way back when, am I right?”

Stiles eyes widened and he nodded glancing at Derek questioningly, who shook his head and looked at you with knit eyebrows. “How did you-”

“My own long story,” you interrupted Stiles, smiling gently. “My point, though, is you turned him down. You said no, and that takes a massive amount of strength. Never will you ever be like Peter. He has died twice-”

“Once-” Derek interrupted.

“Technicalities,” you continued, making Stiles grin. “He came back without any change for the better. You have stared death in the face so many times, and you end up coming out better than before.”

“How do you know-”

“I’m a good judge of character,” you smiled. “Plus, I trust my instincts.”

Xxx

Walking through the back door, you found the rest of the pack already gathered around the large metal exam table in the middle of the room.

Deaton looked up when all heads turned toward you, his jaw dropping slightly only to quickly be replaced with that grin you saw regularly back in the day. “Y/N!” He exclaimed, coming around the table with open arms, engulfing you in a large hug, and you smiled into the man’s shoulder, taking in a deep whiff of what used to be home.

“Deaton! I’m so glad to see you! It’s been so long!”

“Yes, it has. Too long. Much too long….” He pushed you away gently to arms length, hands resting on your shoulders, and you felt like a child again. “They….” He looked over his shoulder at your new pack, sighing before looking back at you. “They told me what happened. Why you’re here, what’s going on, Peter disappearing yet again…. I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.” He smiled sadly. “Your family was one of the best, and they will be greatly missed.”

You felt tears building in your eyes, but dared them not to fall. Not today. “Thank you, Deaton.” No tears today, it was time for answers.

Clearing your throat, you smiled gently. “So, Stiles and Derek made me wait to hear a summary of Beacon Hills over the last few years from you. On the way here, Stiles told me a bit about what happened to him, and the fact that Parrish is a Hellhound.” You looked at Derek pointedly on the last word, but he held his hands behind his back and stared straight forward, not willing to take your bait.

“Yes, there are many things we need to discuss, and I wish we could do it over coffee instead of my exam table, but at the moment, this office is the safest place since it’s lined with Mountain Ash, keeping prying ears like Peter away. And, we will cover everything in time, but right now, this is what you need to know.”

Deaton took a deep breath, the back door swinging open cutting him off. “Sorry I’m late. Had to scare off a few old hunting buddies of mine. Anyone asks, you last saw Y/N near the border.”

“Which border?” Stiles asked.

Chris sighed and rolled his head to face Stiles. “Any of them.” He turned to you with a smile, and held out his arms for a brief hug. “It’s been too long. I’m going to find whoever did this and take care of it. We still have our code,” he looked up to Derek with a nod in greeting, “despite the few like Kate.”

Turning back to you, Chris smiled sadly. “I’m sorry it came to this. True Alpha…. It’s a heavy burden, as I’m sure Scott has already told you, but I can’t think of anyone better for the title to go to.”

“Thank you, Chris. For everything.” The Chris Argent you had heard about after leaving Beacon Hills was not the Chris Argent you knew before leaving. But the man standing in front of you now was every bit his old self, just with some wrinkles around the edges. You spoke softly, placing a hand on his arm. “I’m sorry about Allison.”

His smile faded slightly, and he cleared his throat with a curt nod in recognition. You looked over your shoulder at Scott, smiling. “Scott has had nothing but nice things to say about her.” You looked to Lydia before turning back to Chris. “I think I would have really liked her.”

The wear and tear on his face began to show, tears growing in the corners of his eyes. “She reminded me of you. And now you remind me of her. Funny how life works out that way, isn’t it?”

A silence settled over the room, weights being lifted off of shoulders at the same time others were being added. It was a strange group, to be honest, hunters and were-things and humans all together, but it felt right. It felt like family.

Deaton cleared his throat. “Well, now that we’ve all caught up, I’m going to give you the brief version, the others can fill you in later.” You nodded.

“As part of an ancient ritual, Scott, Allison, and Stiles all acted as surrogate sacrifices to discover where their parents - the final three sacrifices - were being held. It was an old tree called the Nemeton. By being the sacrifices, however, while they may have saved their parent’s lives, they woke up the Nemeton, reactivating the magnet Beacon Hills once was to the supernatural.”

“Like a moth to the flame,” you mumbled, and Deaton nodded.

“In fact, just before that, while Scott was saving my life from being one of the sacrifices, was when he discovered he was a True Alpha. I have a feeling the natural order of things was bracing for the impact that would be the Nemeton. Since then, things have just been all around strange and bump in the night worthy, so the fact that another True Alpha has come, to be honest, makes me kind of worried. No offense!” He added quickly, to which you mumbled a, “None taken,” as you stared at the floor deep in thought as he continued. “I just wonder if nature was bracing with Scott, what is coming that we need two True Alpha’s in the same city, at the same time, with roughly the same connections and ties as well.”

After a moment, you looked up at at each face as you spoke. “So we know basically nothing, and are nearly positive something bad is coming.” Nods went around. “Great.”

You turned back to Deaton. “I have an entirely random question, but you know how Derek and I left things.” He nodded. “If we seal the bond, will it be just like it would have been before, or will the people that came between then and now cause the pain of betrayal initially?”

Deaton gave a smile that gave away nothing. “It depends. It’s different every time. You two knew you were mates, and were partly connected that way, but at the same time, this is Beacon Hills. Nothing goes normally. And if not for all those events that led you both to where you are now, you may never have reconnected, so maybe fate was pulling the strings all along and will be forgiving when you actually get to finish what you started.”

“What they started?” Lydia asked, lips pursed in confusion.

“Here. Let me show you.” Deaton grabbed a bottle of a black powder as you and Derek pulled your collars to the side.

“I heard this stings,” you commented to Derek.

He looked at you, grinning. “Well, I guess we’re about to find out.”

“What is that?” Stiles asked.

“It’s a mixture of Mountain Ash, a special form of wolfsbane, and mistletoe,” Deaton said as he poured a little into his palm.

“Oh. So just everything toxic to werewolves. That sounds harmless,” Stiles said dryly, earning a look from Deaton.

“I’m on your side, remember? Have I been wrong yet? This mixture will show you what supernatural eyes can already see. The Mountain Ash creates a barrier so it doesn’t sink into the skin. Meanwhile the wolfsbane and mistletoe combined make the mark glow.”

You reached out and took Derek’s hand, closing your eyes. “Tell me when it’s over.” You took a deep breath and held it as you heard Deaton gently blow the powder toward the two of you.

“Ow!” You both said in unison before you added, “I was right, it does sting.”

“Open your eyes,” Derek said softly, and you did, taking in the glowing mark you always saw when you let your eyes shift, but you were seeing it from a perfectly human point of view. Well, as human as you got.

Looking up, you saw the entire pack looking on with wide eyes.

“Reason number six thousand, seven hundred, and fifty eight why I sometimes want to be a werewolf,” Stiles said under his breath.


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A/N: This chapter is nitty gritty set up for what’s to come. Also getting a little angsty. Sigh, you knew it was inevitable. Everything before this was prologue. Mwhahahahahaha!!! And yes, I know some characters might be a little OOC (and I literally mean little) but it will make sense in the next part. Sigh. Yes. I will write more.  
> Warnings: None that I know of? Well, it has some suggestive suggesting/implied activities. Mild swearing, and blood/a dead body. Peter being…. Weird. (Actually, mention of dead characters, so, a feels warning. And some light swearing.)

**Derek Hale x Reader (x ~~a little bit of~~ Pack)**

**A/N: This chapter is nitty gritty set up for what’s to come. Also getting a little angsty. Sigh, you knew it was inevitable. Everything before this was prologue. Mwhahahahahaha!!! And yes, I know some characters might be a little OOC (and I literally mean little) but it will make sense in the next part. Sigh. Yes. I will write more.**

**Words:** 3,567

 **Warnings:** None that I know of? Well, it has some suggestive suggesting/implied activities. Mild swearing, and blood/a dead body. Peter being…. Weird. (Actually, mention of dead characters, so, a feels warning. And some light swearing.)

**I do not own Teen Wolf or it’s characters. Sadly.**

Xxx

The rest of the day went by smoothly, the group filling you in on details at Deaton’s, telling their own respective stories as they came up.

The more they told, the more you hated Peter. It always seemed he was in the middle of it, come the conclusion. It had always been that way.

Xxx

_You ran up and knocked on Derek’s front door with a smile on your face. You had finally shifted, and now your bond of friendship was stronger than ever. The two of you may not have been in the same pack, but that didn’t matter. This bond was stronger than that._

_Finally, slowly the front door opened, revealing Derek’s mother, the usual twinkle in her eye gone. “Can I help you, Y/N?” Her tone was warm, but you felt a cold chill run down your spine, something in the Alpha’s stance setting you on edge, invisible to the naked eye, more of a gut feeling._

_You cleared your throat. “Um, yes. Hi, Mrs. Hale. Tonight is the full moon - well, um, er, duh, sorry, you knew that,” you began to ramble, wringing your hands in front of you, staring down at them in a sign of submission and nerves. “Anyway,” you raised your head to meet her gaze once again, standing tall. “Derek said he would help me tonight with the shift? It’s only my second time, and being one another’s anchors, it really helps….” You were talking a mile a minute. “I just…. It would be a big help. My parents have their hands full with my little siblings, they are a bunch of rambunctious pups, and all we do is run. Literally. It’s like an epic game of tag-”_

_“Oh, sis, come on,” Peter appeared on the stairwell behind his sister, sneering at you as he spoke. “Let the little she wolf run with Derek. What’s the worst that could happen?” His last sentence sounded more like a challenge than anything, and he smirked, looking you right in the eye as he said it. “They are mates, you know. If anything, keeping them separated is only going to make it harder for Derek as well, and he just got it under control.”_

_Mrs. Hale stared at you a moment more before calling for her son, who was already halfway down the stairs. “You all forget I hear everything here,” he mumbled, grinning at his mother as she narrowed her eyes playfully at him, before stepping out on the front porch with you, smiling and embracing you in greeting. “Ready to run?” He flashed his bright blue eyes your way._

_You flashed your golden ones in return, smirking. “Duh.”_

Xxx

Lydia had offered to give you a ride home back to the loft after everyone dispersed, Derek agreeing that if anyone saw him hitching a ride with Stiles, they might be able to lure some hunters out.

You got to talking on the way, lost in laughs and stories that had been omitted during your fill in earlier that day, like Scott’s first shifts and how both of you were surprised no one had any clue what was really going on in the town.

“Little do they know a few teenagers are the only thing standing between it and…. Bumps in the night.” She looked away from the road to you for just a moment, almost looking embarrassed, before turning back.

You smiled smally. “It’s okay, Lydia. I know what I am, and I sure as hell bump in the night, but mainly by stubbing my toe on something on the way to the kitchen.”

Both of you laughed, but it soon faded as you looked out the window to your surroundings. “Lydia? Why are we out here?”

“Out where?” She looked at you like you were crazy. “I’m taking you to the….” she slowed the car, finally taking in your surroundings of the parking garage she had just entered. “Loft.” She finally finished, softly. Pulling to a complete stop, and putting it in park, she began to shake. “No. No, no, no, no…. Not now!”

“Lydia, what is it?” You reached out for her shoulder, but your hand didn’t help calm her at all.

She dialed Stiles’ number. “This is what happens before we find….” she swallowed. “Before I find the bodies.”

The final word made you set your senses on high alert, and maybe you were paranoid, but you could have sworn you smelled blood a few levels up.

“Stiles?” Lydia’s voice shook into the phone. “I…. Come to the parking garage downtown. Bring Derek.” She swallowed heavily and closed her eyes. “I think I found another one.”

You got out of the car, closing the door, the thud it made echoing off the cement walls. You didn’t hear any movement after, so you were alone. “Stay here,” you said to Lydia, looking up at the ceiling, trying to judge how many floors up the smell came from. “Send Derek up when he gets here, make Stiles stay with you.” You looked at her, cutting her off as she began to object. “Tell Derek we’re playing a game of tag.” She nodded but looked confused. “He’ll know what it means.” You let your eyes glow. “Oh, and tell him I’m it.”

Xxx

_You were a few miles out, the moon high in the sky, and your urge to shift was waning._

_“Marco!” You cried, spinning in a circle, smiling widely._

_“Polo!” Derek called back from what had to be close to a mile away, making you groan as you took off in that direction._

_“Marco!” You called again, nearly screaming when Derek reached out from behind the tree right in front of you, pulling you close with a grin._

_“Boo!” He whispered, chuckling as you swatted at him._

_“Derek! Not funny! You scared the crap outta me!”_

_“So sorry,” he said sarcastically with an eyeroll. “Use your senses. You should have known where I was.”_

_“And you should have heard me coming a few miles back.” Peter’s voice a few yards behind the tree made you both jump. Stepping out from behind the trunk, Derek stood between you and his uncle, as he continued with a quiet, sarcastic, “Surprise!” Derek growled. “Oh, come now, Derek, you’re getting sloppy and you know it.”_

_“I think he is doing just fine,” you said firmly from behind Derek, shrinking at the snarl Peter sent your way._

_“Says the late bloomer. Such a wonderful compliment, Derek. Really, I mean, you should be flattered that the newbie likes the way you train.”_

_“All this from the man who taught me,” Derek scoffed. “So really, who are you trying to insult?”_

_“No one!” He huffed out a laugh, arms spread wide to his sides. “I’m simply saying I know what I’m doing, obviously, so how about we extend this training session?” His grin turned to something that made you skin crawl. His voice low and challenging, hands clasping in front of him. “A simple game of tag. Both of you run.” He flashed his yellow eyes. “I’m it.”_

Xxx

Running up three levels, you saw the body, the blood, and you began to have flashbacks to that night with your family. You rushed over, kneeling down, ignoring the fact that you heard no heartbeat, and checked for a pulse.

Standing, you squared your shoulders. Steeling yourself, you turned around to see Peter at the elevator entrance to the level, hands behind his back, smirking. “You got better.”

“Did you do this?” You pointed at the body behind you.

“No, I followed Lydia after Deaton’s. Smelled the blood a ways back.” He pointed over his shoulder. “I’m surprised you didn’t.”

“Don’t test me, Peter.” Your eyes flamed, and his blue glowed right back.

“I’m not,” he shrugged innocently, eyes fading. “You’d have to know the material in order to do that.” He smirked. “Then again, you always were a fast learner.” He got into the elevator, the doors closing right as Derek came around the corner, eyes going wide when he looked to you.

“Y/N?” His voice was small.

Looking down, you realized you had knelt in the blood, and gotten it on you when you checked for a pulse. You looked up to Derek wide eyed.

“Derek, I swear, he was dead when I got up here…. I just checked for a pulse…. Peter showed up-”

“Wait, what? Peter was here?”

“Yes, and he was playing one of his sick, twisted games he used to do on the full moons-”

Derek’s voice was low and angry. “Which one this time?”

“Can we just… Not,” you said, waving your hands, fingers spread wide as you gestured smally.

Your face was drawn, lips slightly parted as you stared at your hands, eyes wide, flashbacks coming faster and faster, and the gesture you made which was similar to shushing a child, placating a toddler, asking whatever was in front of you to wait grew larger every third wave or so.

You broke down in tears, freezing with your hands in front of you, the blood coating them. Sobs wracked your body, and you went to pull a hand to your face, either to hide or muffle the sound, but stopped short, realizing it was still there, sticky and vibrant.

“Oh my God, what have I done?” you said quietly. “What have I done? What have I done?” You went from mumbling to shouting and back again repeatedly, varying the speed at which you uttered the words until it was just unintelligible babble.

“Y/N! Y/N!” Derek’s echoing voice cut you off, and your wide eyes went back to him. “You didn’t do anything.”

“I might have! Maybe it was a hunter-”

“It’s not your fault, Y/N.”

“Then who-” you pointed at the body behind you, taking a few small steps toward Derek.  

“I don’t know, but we have to get you out of here.”

Police sirens were a few blocks away as Stiles pulled up in the Jeep, Lydia in her car, close behind.

Stiles took in your blood covered appearance before hopping out of his car, and you answered his unspoken questions, your voice defeated as you pointed almost limply toward the elevators. “Peter.”

“Peter?” He echoed.

“Peter!” You said again, loudly, closing your eyes to keep from shifting, but you knew they still glowed their vibrant red when you opened them again, slowly fading back to human as you continued. “He was here, played some twisted, mind game, for lack of a better word, and got in the elevator right before Derek showed up. No blood on him, said he followed Lydia from Deaton’s and smelled the blood a ways back.” You looked at Derek pointedly. “He was also surprised that I didn’t.”

Derek’s eyes flashed on and off, almost flickering as his hands turned to fists at his side, the jibe obviously not lost on him. “Did he say anything else?”

“Something about how he wasn’t testing me - it wouldn’t be fair since I didn’t know the material, but then again, I always was a fast learner.” Derek almost punched the wall. “Oh, and apparently he didn’t do this.” You grinned sardonically. “Or so the twice dead werewolf says.”

“So what game is he playing now?” Stiles asked.

“I believe this was a game of fetch,” you bit out. You felt your eyes glow as you suppressed the rest of a shift as best you could.

“No, this was just a test,” Derek said. “He wanted to know if you would respond to him.” He looked you in the eye. “He’s recreating your last days in Beacon Hills.” You just stared at him blankly, not letting you mind replay that long list of years. “Think about it, Y/N.” Not if you could help it. “All the corners of this parking garage we turned to come up here to find the body. It’s the spiral, he wants revenge. He may not have killed anyone, but he saw an opportunity, and we all came right to him.”

“A test, a game, whatever, he was just trying to call you out. What, like ‘Red Rover’?” Stiles asked, arms spread wide. “Red Rover, Red Rover, let Y/N come over!”

“He actually preferred Marco Polo,” you finally said.

“Okay, that’s just creepy,” Stiles said after a minute.

“Yeah. Try doing it on a full moon while learning how to shift. It’s to test your senses.” You rolled your eyes at him. “But this is a game of tag.” You looked to each person, landing on Derek before you added, “And now I’m not it.”

Xxx

You rode with Stiles again the rest of the way back to the loft before the cops showed up, Lydia and Derek close behind.

“So, this is all sounding like a really creepy nursery rhyme from hell,” Stiles finally said after a long silence, and you couldn’t help the loud laugh that tumbled out. “What, do you guys like play kids games on the full moon for the hell of it?” He glanced at you before looking back to the road. “Because if that is the case, never ask me to play hide and seek,” he held up one finger, your head falling back against the headrest as you looked at him in amusement, and he held up another finger. “Red Rover may _never_ come over,” he held up one more finger, “And, I don’t care what Simon says - run.”

You were snorting you laughed so hard. You almost forgot about the ridiculous situation you were in. Almost. “They are ways to distract us and train us. Distance, smell, they are tracking exercises. Werewolf 101, if you will.” You grew somber, looking out the window. “Peter just took them to a whole other level.”

“Yeah, a creepy fairytale level.”

“Welcome to Beacon Hills,” you mumbled, earning a chuckle from Stiles.

Xxx

You walked into the loft, Derek hot on your heels, Lydia and Stiles right behind him.

“I didn’t do it,” you said. “Derek, you have to believe me.”

“I do.”

“I just…. I don’t even know. I got in the car with Lydia, and we drove, we laughed, and I must have zoned out until we got to the garage, but when Lydia told me what had happened, I immediately smelled the blood. And when I saw the guy….” you trailed off, one arm lamely gesturing vaguely to the side as if the body were somewhere in the loft, “I had flashbacks to my family and the hunters. I knew there was no heartbeat, but I went to check for a pulse anyway. I must have blacked out or something, or seen a family member instead, because when I realized what was happening, I was covered in blood, and that guy…. That poor guy…. I could tell it had just happened, the blood was still fresh, I could smell it, and-”

“Hey,” he approached you, bracing his hands on your upper arms as if to steady you, ground you, and he saw it helped a little as your eyes flicked to him, fear still heavily laced between the comfort, though. “It’s okay. We’ll figure it out. But for now, you need to go change. You’re still covered in blood.”

Looking down, you seemed to study yourself vacantly. “Oh.” You were still in shock, and felt frozen, stuck in your thoughts.

“Y/N?” Derek said your name softly, and your head snapped up to him, the cloud of daze over your eyes fading with a few rapid blinks. “If you-”

“Well,” Stiles cleared his throat loudly. “I think this is our cue to leave?” He raised his eyebrows in question, nodding at the eyeroll from Derek. “I’ll take that as a yes, and tell Isaac to stay at Scott’s.” With that, both he and Lydia left the loft, knowing looks on their faces, as they shared a quick look.

“Y/N,” Derek tried again, the corners of his mouth twitching up as he saw your’s do the same, ever so slightly. “If you want, go ahead and give me the clothes, and I’ll wash them while you’re in the shower.”

You nodded slowly, shaking your head once to totally clear the fog, along with a clear of your throat before you peeled off the clothes, grimacing at the sound it made. “I always hated that sound.” Derek screwed his face up as well, nodding gently in agreement. Like a sick, twisted band aid being ripped off, it was the sound of death.

You solemnly wadded the clothes into a ball before handing them to him, standing in just your underwear, and looking down, you realized the garments were also soaked with the blood. You stared at the floor, weight shifting from foot to foot, ignoring Derek’s averted gaze and repeated throat clearing. So much for a mate bond…. Only made this situation more awkward. Unfinished business hung between the two of you, making that small string of the bond tug you towards one another, but you both pulled the opposite way. Well, you tried.

“I’ll toss these out into the hall once I get the water running?” You gestured to the undergarments, looking up to meet his gaze and he simply nodded, swallowing roughly as he pulled his eyes back up to your’s, realizing he had been staring at your- elsewhere.

A charged moment hung between you two, and to his surprise, you began to smirk. His eyebrows raised in question. “The washer is gonna pull from the showers hot water, right?”

He nodded, not quite sure where this was going.

“Well, since you’re covered in blood, too - sorry, by the way - we could just, shower together?” Somehow you were closer than you had been while talking, almost toe to toe. Try as you might, the small string had won, and pulled you both together. He must have made some kind of face because you quickly backtracked. That or you were reading too much into things. “Or, you could wait, and run the wash after, so we both have hot water.” You were taking small steps backwards, retreating, feeling small and awkward like you had all those years ago, rambling, looking him in the eyes, then anywhere else as you kept going backwards, thumb gesturing over your shoulder to the bathroom.

You were about to turn around and run to the bathroom before you said anything else stupid, smiling when you realized you had only moved maybe a foot away through all of that when he reached out, grabbing your hand to stop you.

Tingling. That was all you could process. A sensation running from his hand up your arm to the mark, which began to burn, not in a painful way, in a so close to the fire it’s uncomfortable way.

One glance up to his eyes showed the same was happening to him.

A look, that was it, before you were in his arms, legs wrapped around his waist, the dirty clothes forgotten on the floor as he dropped them, snaking his arms around your waist and your lips met as if they were making up for lost time. Smiling into the kiss, he walked both of you to the bathroom, closing the door with his foot.

Xxx

“So,” Derek drawled out with a smirk, looking up at you through his lashes. “Were all the rumors you heard true?”

You were drying your hair with a towel, and paused, unable to help your own smirk. “Considering I somehow got a splinter in my foot somewhere along the way, I would say yes.” You both chuckled. “When- How did that even happen?” Derek shrugged as he resumed trying to extract the splinter and you resumed scrubbing your hair vigorously as a smirk settled on your face yet again.

“What?” He asked, cocking an eyebrow at you.

“I still can’t believe you had some of my clothes, after all these years,” you chuckled, looking down at the dark red shirt with the Beacon Hills High School logo on the front. You had bought some of those iron on letters at a craft store, and made it so his last name ran across the back, along with his jersey number, simply to piss off any prying eyes.

“Technically the pants are mine,” he returned the smirk, taking in his black sweats that practically swallowed your small frame.

“Technicality,” you waved it off, flicking your wrist like shooing a bad smell away, “Minor details,” and he chuckled. Your voice was softer when you spoke again. “How did they make it through the fire?”

He stiffened slightly. “Ironically…. A fireproof box.” He laughed softly. “That with a special kind of wolfsbane inside was the only way to hide my keepsakes from the rest of the family. I kept it under my bed.”

“Aw, that’s actually kinda sw- Ah! God! Son of a bitch!”

He laughed as he soothed over the wound on your foot with his thumb. “Got the splinter out.”

“What was it- A freaking plank?! Damn, that hurt.” You smiled. “But seriously? A fireproof box under your bed? Talk about irony.”

He nodded gently, the wound already healed, but he kept massaging your foot with his thumb, and looked up to meet your eyes. “Yup.” He smiled sardonically, letting out a dark chuckle and a shrug. “Devil’s in the details.”


End file.
